There was a similar spike in searches for more abstract information, too. The NSA searched for metadata (details like names and dates, but not content) 9,500 times in 2013, and 23,800 times two years later.

The worry, as The Intercept notes, is that these intelligence-gathering outfits are making greater use of a power they shouldn't even have. While the National Intelligence Director's Office has contended that these searches are legal because that information was collected legally, critics say that this amounts to warrantless access to very sensitive information. Also, this report doesn't account for FBI searches. It's possible that the bureau conducted many more searches that aren't on the radar. You may not get better answers until the Director provides an estimate for the number of people swept up in US surveillance efforts.