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Transparency Report

July 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018

Released: May 15, 2019

Updated: June 7, 2019

Snapchat Transparency Reports are released twice a year. These reports provide important insight into the volume and nature of governmental requests for Snapchatters' account information and other legal notifications.

Since November 15, 2015, our policy has been to notify Snapchatters when we receive legal process seeking their account information, with exceptions for cases where we are legally prohibited from doing so, or when we believe there are exceptional circumstances (like child exploitation or an imminent risk of death or bodily injury).

At Snap, we support industry-wide efforts to improve content moderation reporting and transparency practices. In doing so, however, we recognize that technology platforms facilitate content creation, sharing, and retention in vastly different ways. As our platform evolves, so too, will Snap Transparency Reports, laying the groundwork to publish new categories of information to inform our community in the future. We support the spirit of the Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation in creating a framework for best practices in content moderation.

For more information about how we handle law enforcement data requests, please take a look at our Law Enforcement GuidePrivacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

United States Criminal Legal Requests

Requests for User Information pursuant to U.S. legal process.

CategoryRequestsAccount IdentifiersPercentage of requests where some data was produced
Total6,82811,18887%
Subpoena1,6243,23183%
PRTT547694%
Court Order17567987%
Search Warrant4,0916,09792%
EDR80191169%
Wiretap Order615100%
Summons7717975%

International Government Information Requests

Requests for User Information from government entities outside the United States.

CountryEmergency RequestsAccount Identifiers for Emergency RequestsPercentage of emergency requests where some data was producedOther Information RequestsAccount Identifiers for Other RequestsPercentage of other information request where some data was produced
Total40047771%4696670%
Argentina00N/A550%
Australia91133%13290%
Austria00N/A6100%
Belgium00N/A180%
Brazil00N/A680%
Canada12013482%81413%
Columbia00N/A110%
Cyprus00N/A110%
Denmark00N/A10110%
Estonia00N/A220%
France323956%731080%
Germany154067%67960%
Hungary00N/A1130%
India6750%29360%
Ireland00N/A450%
Israel220%240%
Lithuania00N/A110%
Mexico00N/A110%
Netherlands6733%00N/A
Norway7886%21390%
Poland110%230%
Slovenia00N/A110%
Spain00N/A110%
Sweden6850%19280%
Switzerland91456%770%
United Arab Emirates110%110%
United Kingdom18620574%1862341%

United States National Security Requests

Requests for User Information pursuant to national security legal process.

National SecurityRequestsAccount Identifiers*
NSLs and FISA Orders/DirectivesO-249250-499

Governmental Content Removal Requests

This category identifies demands by a government entity to remove content that would otherwise be permissible under our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.

Removal RequestsPercentage of requests where some content was removed
0N/A

Note: When we believe it is necessary to restrict content that is deemed unlawful in a particular country, but does not otherwise violate our policies, we seek to restrict access to it geographically when possible, rather than remove it globally.

This category identifies demands by a government entity to remove content that would be a violation under our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.

CountryNumber of requestsNumber of posts removed or restricted or number of accounts suspended
Australia2527
United Kingdom1720
United States44

Copyrighted Content Takedown Notices (DMCA)

This category reflects any valid takedown notices we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

DMCA Takedown NoticesPercentage of requests where some content was removed
6045%
DMCA Counter-NoticesPercentage of requests where some content was reinstated
0N/A

* “Account Identifiers” reflects the number of identifiers (e.g. username, email address, phone number, etc.) specified by law enforcement in legal process when requesting user information. Some legal process may include more than one identifier. In some instances, multiple identifiers may identify a single account. In instances where a single identifier is specified in multiple requests, each instance is included.

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