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Refreshing our Transparency Report for copyright removals

Jess Hemerly
Public Policy, Google Transparency Report
Published Sep 7, 2016

Back in 2012, as a part of our continuing effort to increase transparency around the flow of information online, we began disclosing the number of requests we get from copyright owners (and the organizations that represent them) to remove Google Search results because they allegedly link to infringing content.

The report hasn’t changed much since 2012 and was getting a little rusty. So today, we’re releasing a new version of the report that makes it easier for you to understand the data:

  • Examples of removal requests, similar to the annotations we added to government requests to remove content last year. These illustrate the range of things we’re asked to remove and the decisions we make in response.

  • A new Explore the Data page, which lets you search the database of removal requests and see a more detailed list of reporting organizations, domains, and copyright owners.

  • An explanation of how copyright notice and takedown is applied to Google Search, which we hope leads to a better overall understanding of the process.

In addition to this major overhaul, over the last two months we’ve made a few updates to other sections of the Transparency Report:

  • In late July, we published the data on government requests for user data for the second half of 2015. We coupled this update with a blog post about some of the recent advances in surveillance reform, including the Judicial Redress Act and the EU-US Privacy Shield.

  • At the beginning of August, we added added YouTube and Calendar to our HTTPS Report Card, continuing to show our progress toward secure connections for people across our products. Learn more about YouTube’s efforts on the YouTube Engineering blog.

  • A few weeks ago, we updated the government requests to remove content section with data for the second half of 2015. The data show an upward trend in governments asking us to remove content from our products and services, with content on YouTube, Search and Blogger cited most frequently.

Transparency reporting is an important way to shed light on the policies and actions of governments and corporations, and how they affect privacy, security, and the flow of information online.  We’re always exploring new ways to explain legal policies and processes and will continue to add new examples and new data to our reports. You can follow us on Google+ to get the latest on updates to the Transparency Report and news on related projects.  

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