The leading social network, in its twice-annual "transparency report," said the number of items "restricted" for violating local laws more than doubled compared to the prior six-month period to  55,827.

It had received 13 percent more government requests for user data in the second half of 2015, with more than 46,000 requests worldwide.- Facebook said on Thrusday

"Overall, we continue to see an increase globally in government requests for user data and content restrictions pursuant to local law," Facebook deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said.

The United States putative for the largest number of law enforcement doubts, with 19,235 queries affecting 30,041 accounts, it produced at least some data in 81 percent of those cases.-Facebook said

"We distinguish there are serious bullying to public safety and that law enforcement has an important accountability to keep people safe," Sonderby said in a blog post.

"Our legal and safety teams work hard to respond to legitimate law enforcement requests while fulfilling our responsibility to protect people's privacy and security."