Google 2020 transparency report to highlight enterprise customer data use by governments

Google has released its bi-annual Transparency report, which will make public details about government snooping. The company states that starting 2020, it will also include in these reports the GSuite and Google Cloud requests it receives from governments.

"Early next year, we will begin to publish in our semi-annual transparency report the number of government requests we receive for Google Cloud Platform and G Suite enterprise customer data. The publication of this information is an important milestone in our efforts to improve transparency and help address broader uncertainty about how often governments are coming to Google to request access to enterprise customer data," Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud stated in a post on the Google Cloud website.

Governments globally are pushing efforts for surveillance of the online space and are even asking for access to enterprise data.

Google, which has a large tranche global online traffic is now spearheading transparency efforts, even though the company has a tricky history regarding transparency. Google has stated that governments should reach out directly to companies, rather than coming to it for data. The company will also try to convince governments to allow companies to challenge such requests.

The company states that it will enhance online security further and back initiatives to modernise existing technologies. It is also making its transparency reports public and easier to understand.

The company states that it will work on "can help inform and shape the public debate about information online."

Google may have been hauled up for its anti-trust policies in the past, but its efforts to increase and ensure transparency, in a time when authoritarian regimes throughout the world are clamping down on free speech and expression is certainly a ray of light.

Google undertaking such efforts is bound to have an impact, given its wide reach and usefulness by enterprises, governments and regular customers alike.