Meta (Facebook) and US national security data requests: A study in media imperialism

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the field of media imperialism by evaluating Meta’s role in the US state–corporate surveillance complex. Using a case study approach, the author analyses Meta’s transparency report alongside US Government oversight documents and supporting materials. Meta’s report reveals that, in the last six months of 2023, the US Government requested data on nearly 160,000 users. The report also shows that data requests have increased over 30-fold in the past decade. The author contextualizes these findings within the legal and historical framework of data requests, highlighting substantial abuses by US national security agencies, and finds that the US Government has integrated Meta into its surveillance complex through data requests based on FISA Section 702 and National Security Letter statutes. This connection between Meta’s commercial surveillance and the US Government’s geopolitical surveillance creates critical privacy and security risks for users.

Keywords

Facebook media imperialism Meta state–corporate surveillance complex surveillance transparency

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