Dow Jones Newswires | Google Inc. released data about the number
of requests it receives from government agencies for data about users
and to remove content, in a move it says is aimed at exposing the
growing problem of Internet censorship.
Through a new mapping
tool, Google is displaying the number of requests it receives for user
data related to criminal investigations as well as the number of
government requests it received for removing content from services such
as YouTube. The company also lists what percentage of the content
removal requests it complies with by country, except for China, where it
says numerating the requests would be illegal.
The tool shows that from July 1 to Dec. 31, Brazil made the most data requests, with 3,663. The U.S was second with 3,580. Brazil also led with 291 requests for removal of content, with Germany in second place and the U.S fourth, behind India.
A Google spokesman said the company plans to share data about what percentage of requests to turn over user information related to investigations it complies with, once it figures out how to best characterize the data.
The move comes as privacy advocates have long demanded that Internet companies, including Google, be more transparent about what they do and don’t share with foreign governments, along with what they agree to censor.
It also comes as many governments are urging Google to do more to protect user privacy. Tuesday, a group of privacy commissioners from countries including Canada, France and the Britain held a press conference to push Google to build better privacy protections into its services. The news conference followed a letter the group sent to Google Monday.
Meanwhile, Google remains on a campaign to fight what it sees as the growing problem of Internet censorship. In March, it stopped censoring its search engine in China. The company continues to host some services in China, and therefore is not disclosing the number of removal requests it receives from the country, which it says would violate Chinese law. In the new tool, China is listed with a question mark.
