Technology

Apple got thousands of law enforcement requests in second half of 2015

Apple received 4,000 requests for device data from American law enforcement in the second half of 2015, according to its most recent transparency report.

The report, posted online on Monday night, shows that Apple continues to actively work with law enforcement in many cases despite the battle raging over access to encrypted data.

{mosads}The company complied with the request in 80 percent of the cases, down from 81 percent in the first half of 2015. Requests were up overall from the first half of the year, when the company only received 3,824 from authorities in the United States.

The 4,000 requests made in the second half of 2015 covered more than 16,000 devices, according to Apple’s report.

Law enforcement also made more than 1,000 requests for account data in the United States and between 1,250 and 1,499 national security requests. Apple agreed to delete three accounts at the behest of law enforcement.

Apple has worked to implement encryption and make strong data security for users part of its brand. Encrypted data cannot be accessed by the company.

That decision has put them in the hot seat, most recently during a legal battle with the FBI over whether the company should write code to help the agency access encrypted data on an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers.