Electronic Frontier Foundation also evaluates whether companies publish their guidelines for law enforcement requests for user data. Law enforcement guides might provide insight into issues such as:

• Whether a company requires a warrant for content;
• What types of data a company retains, and what kind of legal process the company requires for law enforcement to obtain various kinds of information;
• How long data is generally held by the company, and how long will it be held in response to a retention request;
• Whether the company has an exception for specific emergency or other kinds of disclosures; and
• Whether the company asks for reimbursement for the costs incurred in complying with a request for data.

These published guidelines help us better understand what standards and rules law enforcement must follow when they seek access to sensitive user data on a variety of different platforms. They also help companies avoid receiving improper requests in the first place, by educating law enforcement about what they can and cannot obtain, and the standards that must be met.