The government filed a total of 128 requests for information from Facebook during the first half of the year, the lowest number since 2014.

The Maltese government’s requests went down for the first time in five years, according to the social media giant’s bi-annual report on the number of requests for information on content filed by governments around the world.

The total from Malta had reached an all-time high in the previous six months, between July and December 2018, when some 210 were made by the government.

The social networking site gives a breakdown of these requests twice a year. Each one received by Facebook is “carefully reviewed for legal sufficiency”.

The site can “reject or require greater specificity” on requests that appear overly broad or vague.

On the information sought by the Maltese government, Facebook said it had produced “some data” in response to just over half of the requests made between January and July.

Of these, seven were related to an emergency and were made by law enforcement officials through an online request system. These were cases that might have involved imminent harm to a child.

The police can also ask for information if a person is perceived to be in “imminent danger”.

The Maltese authorities also requested the preservation of two accounts, the report shows. Facebook took steps to preserve these records for 90 days for the purpose of an ongoing investigation.

Facebook does not provide information on what such investigations entailed.

Why do governments ask Facebook for information?

Government officials sometimes make requests for data about people who use Facebook as part of official investigations.

According to the social media giant, the vast majority of these requests relate to criminal cases, such as robberies or kidnappings.

When government officials ask for data about Facebook’s users, in most cases they request basic subscriber information, such as name and duration of service. The officials could also ask for IP address logs or account content.

Some governments also ask for content restrictions if the content is deemed to have violated a country’s laws. Facebook says it would comply after scrutinising the content to confirm it was indeed breaking laws.

Data on this related to Malta was not available in the latest report.