Governance on Social Media Data: Different Focuses between Government and Internet Company

How governments and Internet companies regulate user data on social media attracts public attention. This study tried to answer two questions: What kind of countries send more requests for Facebook user data? What kind of countries get more requests replies from Facebook? We aim to figure out how a country’s economic, political and social factors affect its government requests for user data and Facebook’s responses rate to those requests. Results show that countries with higher GDP per capita, a higher level of human freedom and a lower level of rule of law send more requests for user data; while Facebook tends to reply to government requests from countries with a higher level of human freedom and a lower level of political stability. In conclusion, governments and Facebook show different focuses on governance on social media data.