This also depends on the country and the industry. For many American jobs these days, your previous employer might be opening themselves up to a lawsuit if they said anything bad about you, so many companies now will at most identify the duration of your employment and your job title but nothing else.

The point is not that a former employee would necessarily win a lawsuit, but they could bring one and the legal bills alone would be significant, therefore many company lawyers will say to just shut the hell up when asked any questions about performance.