Microsoft has followed in the footsteps of Google and Twitter to become the latest tech firm to provide details of information requests submitted to it by law enforcement agencies from around the world.

According to Microsoft’s Transparency Report, the company received a total 75,378 law enforcement requests over the last year, pertaining to 137,424 accounts. The requests were made in relation to Microsoft’s internet and cloud services, such as Outlook.com, Hotmail, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, Skype and Office 365.

The disclosure comes as something of a surprise, given that Microsoft had for several years resisted calls to do so. And so it’s all the more surprising that Microsoft has actually gone one step further than Google and Twitter, providing details on how many disclosures actually covered its customer’s content – for example the body and subject of emails – as opposed to requests for user information like name, IPs and email addresses. According to the report, only 2.2% of the requests received demanded actual user content.

“We similarly are reporting on the number of law enforcement requests that result in disclosure only of ‘non-content’ data, which includes account information such as an email address, a person’s name, country of residence, or gender, or system-generated data such as IP addresses and traffic data,” writes Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel, in a blog post.

When compared with Google’s data, it’s interesting to note that Microsoft is a lot stingier in responding to requests from US officials than its counterpart, although less so when dealing with foreign agencies, where it’s four times more likely to give up customer’s data. In total, Microsoft received 11,073 requests from the US government, handing over what was asked in 79% of those cases. In contrast, Google received 16,407 requests from US officials in 2012, and responded positively in 89% of cases.

Outside of the US though, it’s a very different story. During 2012, Microsoft received some 59,592 requests from foreign law enforcement agencies, compared to just 25,920 received by Google. Could this be down to Microsoft’s perceived generosity with responding to such requests from overseas? When you consider that the company gave up data for 83% of all requests made, compared to just 52% by Google, it certainly looks that way. Of course, it’s also worth noting that this means Microsoft is far likelier to give out customer data than Google in general, being some 3.6 times more likely to comply than its rival.

Microsoft does at least attempt to address the issue in an FAQ accompanying its report:

“Microsoft maintains operations and a physical presence in more than 100 countries around the world, which makes it easier for law enforcement authorities and/or courts to contact local Microsoft offices with requests for customer data. However, we only disclose data in 46 countries where we have the ability to validate the lawfulness of the request.”

Another possible reason for Microsoft’s compliance in foreign countries is that it’s simply been around much longer than Google, and so law enforcement officials are more likely to know how to squeeze out the information they need. Microsoft has long-standing relations with dozens of foreign governments, and so it follows that these officials will be more familiar with Microsoft’s rules and requirements.

The above figures do not take into account Skype, for which Microsoft issued separate figures. In total, the firm says that it received 4,713 requests for information on a total of 15,409 Skype accounts, and on no occasion did it provide any user content to law enforcement agencies:

“Skype produced no content in response to these requests, but did provide non-content data, such as a SkypeID, name, email account, billing information and call detail records if a user subscribed to the Skype In/Online service, which connects to a telephone number,” writes Smith.

Skype was kept separate from the main report because the service collects data differently, in accordance with the laws of Luxembourg that governed it prior to Microsoft’s acquisition of the service.

“Skype reporting policies and practices have now been brought in line with Microsoft reporting policies and going forward all data will be provided in a consistent format,” the firm stated.

Just like Google, Twitter and other tech firms that release transparency reports each year, Microsoft says that it only hands over customer data when issued with a valid subpoena or court order.