Amazon Information Request Report
This bi-annual report provides additional information on the types and volume of
information requests we receive.
Types of Information Requests Received by Amazon
Subpoenas. Subpoenas are valid and binding legal demands for information or
testimony issued by courts, lawyers, law enforcement agencies, or grand juries, usually
without any substantive review by a judge or magistrate. We produce non-content
information only in response to valid and binding subpoenas. We do not produce
content information in response to subpoenas. Amazon objects to overbroad or
otherwise inappropriate subpoenas as a matter of course.
Search warrants. Search warrants may be issued by local, state, or federal courts
upon a showing of probable cause and must specifically identify the place to be
searched and the items to be seized. We may produce non-content and content
information in response to valid and binding search warrants. Amazon objects to
overbroad or otherwise inappropriate search warrants as a matter of course.
Other court orders. Other court orders refers to valid and binding orders issued by
local, state, or federal courts, other than search warrants or court-issued subpoenas.
For example, we may receive a court order, obtained by a government entity, seeking to
remove user content or accounts. Such removal requests are reported separately in the
statistics below. Our responses to other court orders depend on the nature of the
request. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate orders as a matter of
course.
National security requests. National security requests include National Security
Letters (“NSLs”) and court orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
(“FISA”). Our responses to these requests depend on the nature of the request.
Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate national security requests as a
matter of course. Amazon is prohibited by law from reporting the exact number of NSLs
and FISA orders it receives. Therefore we report the numbers of such requests only
within certain ranges set by the government.
Non-U.S. requests. Non-U.S. requests include legal demands from non-U.S.
governments, including legal orders issued pursuant to the Mutual Legal Assistance
Treaty process or the letters rogatory process. Our responses to these requests
depend on the nature of the request. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise
inappropriate non-U.S. requests as a matter of course.

1

 Content v. Non-Content Information
Non-content. “Non-content” information means subscriber information such as name,
address, email address, billing information, date of account creation, and certain
purchase history and service usage information.
Content. “Content” information means the content of data files stored in a customer’s
account.
How Amazon Responds to Requests
Full response. Full response means that Amazon responded to valid legal process by
providing all of the information requested.
Partial response. Partial response means that Amazon responded to valid legal
process by providing only some of the information requested.
No response. No response means that Amazon responded to valid legal process by
providing none of the information requested.
For the period January 1, 2015, through May 31, 2015:
Subpoenas received:
How Amazon responded:
Full response:
Partial response:
No response:

813
542
126
145

Search warrants received:
How Amazon responded:
Full response:
Partial response:
No response:

25
13
8
4

2

 Other court orders received:
How Amazon responded:
Full response:
Partial response:
No response:
National security requests received:

13
4
5
4
0-249

Non-U.S. requests received:
How Amazon responded:
Full response:
Partial response:
No response:

132

Removal requests received:
How Amazon responded:
Full response:
Partial response:
No response:

1

3

108
7
17

1
0
0