This is a guest post by Herdict Netherlands Country Leader Stefan Kulk. It was previously published here.
Google set up a dedicated website showing the number of requests it received from government entities for the removal of content or the disclosure of user data. This data reflects the number of requests that were made from July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. Requests made to YouTube are included.
Limitations
There are limits to what this data can tell us. Some requests seek the removal of multiple pieces of content, or seek data for more than one account. There may also be multiple requests that ask for the removal of the same piece of content, or data for the same account. Furthermore, the data only shows the number of requests that Google received and not the number of actual requests that Google complied with or challenged.
Google mainly provides data about Western European countries and North America. In Western Europe, the UK and France take the top spots with regard to data requests. Germany leads when it comes to removal requests. There is no or little data about countries in other regions. With regard to China, Google reports: “Chinese officials consider censorship demands as state secrets, so we cannot disclose that information at this time”. In its FAQ, Google discusses some additional limitations regarding the interpretation of the data.
About the Author: lmiyakawa
Laura Miyakawa is the Project Manager for Herdict. In this role, she directs the tactics and the long term strategy for the site. Prior to joining the Berkman Center, Laura worked with the Boston Consulting Group, developing strategies for high tech clients up and down the East coast. While at BCG, she had the opportunity to work in outback Australia on a Welfare Reform pilot. Recently, she worked as a commercialization associate at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where she handled all patenting and licensing decisions for the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. Laura holds bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and MIT, respectively.
