Privacy advocates jaws dropped today as they read a New York Times report that cell phone companies processed more than 1.2 million law enforcement requests for customer records last year. Many subpoenas are for more than one subscriber, so the actual number is higher.

The disclosures came in response to letters from Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX).

If that 1.2 million number sounds high to you, consider this: Sprint noted in its response that it received about 500,000 subpoenas last year and that “each subpoena typically requested subscriber information on multiple subscribers.”

Other carriers said they sometimes respond to subpoenas by providing all of the information from a cell tower or a particular area, thus giving police sensitive personal information on people the police haven't even asked about.