Amazon on Friday disclosed how many government data demands it receives, as part of the company's first Transparency Report. Stephen Schmidt, chief information security officer for Amazon Web Services, outlines the company's policies and positions related to privacy and data security.

He said that Amazon does not disclose customer information unless it is required in order to omply with a legally valid and binding order. He added that Amazon never participated in the NSA’s PRISM program, although the company had been repeatedly challenged government subpoenas for customer information.

"We also advocate in Congress to modernize outdated privacy laws to require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant from a court to get the content of customer communications. That’s the appropriate standard, and it’s the standard we follow," Schmidt said.

Amazon’s bi-annual information request report, available here, covers the six months starting January 1 and ending May 31. According to the report:

• Amazon received 813 subpoenas, of which it fully complied with 66 percent;
• Amazon received 35 search warrants, of which it fully complied with just over half;
• Out of the other 13 other court orders it received, Amazon fully complied with just four;
• Amazon received 132 foreign requests, of which it fully complied with 82 percent;
• Amazon complied with the one removal orders (like user data) it received

Amazon disclosed that it had received between zero and 249 national security requests, such as a court order issued by the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.