Digital democracy|Digital freedom
Content removal attempts from Google this decade
In recent years, Google has seen a significant rise in content removal requests from courts and government agencies worldwide. Since 2020, nearly 330k requests have been submitted, originating from almost 150 countries. Russia tops the list, accounting for 64% of these requests, followed by South Korea and India, showing the increasing global demand for content regulation on digital platforms.
In this article, we’ll delve into the specifics of government Google removal requests. We will explore the countries with the highest number of requests, the primary reasons behind these requests, the most targeted Google products and services, and the impact of these removals on online information availability.
Countries with the most Google removal requests
Throughout this decade, Google has received nearly 330,000 content removal requests from courts and government agencies, with an annual average growth rate of 34% since 2020. Starting at over 44,000 requests in 2020, this number surpassed 100,000 by 2023, indicating that the volume of requests has more than doubled.
Requests have been received from nearly 150 different countries or regions. Russia accounts for 64% of the total, with over 211,000 requests (almost 130 per day). South Korea is second, with 10% of requests, totaling nearly 33,000 requests or approximately 20 per day. India follows with 5%, translating to almost 16,000 requests or around 9 per day.
It is important to note that this analysis does not include complete data for 2024, which could potentially affect these trends.
Among the top 15 with the highest number of Google removal requests are also Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil, Bangladesh, France, Pakistan, the United States, Australia, Germany, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia. Notably, of all countries or regions not in this list (about 90% of all countries) submitted fewer than one request per day on average.
Most targeted Google products and services by governments
Courts and government agencies may request to remove content from Google products and services — from Blogger and Google Translate to Gmail. However, this decade, the majority of requests have been directed towards YouTube, which accounts for 54% of requests. Web Search is in second place accounting for 31% of requests. Together, these two platforms account for 85% of the received content removal requests.
Russia is the leading country in terms of requests related to both YouTube and Web Search. For YouTube, India ranks second, with over 8,000 requests, followed by Turkey with nearly 6,000. For Web Search, South Korea is second with nearly 16,000 requests, while France has submitted over 3,000 requests.
Russia's dominance in the total number of requests could potentially distort the results, emphasizing trends unique to that country rather than capturing global patterns. However, even without considering data from Russia, YouTube and Web Search remain the leading Google products, making up nearly 70% of the requests.
Main reasons for requesting content removal from Google
Each request is categorized by reason, with over 20 different grounds for requesting content removal from Google products or services. This decade, the three most common reasons have been National Security, with over 96,000 requests; Copyright, with nearly 71,000 requests; and Privacy and Security, with more than 37,000 requests. Together, these three reasons account for over 60% of content removal requests globally.
The analysis of which countries contribute most to specific request categories reveals that Russia overwhelmingly dominates both the National Security and Copyright categories, making up 96% and 95% of requests, respectively. This indicates that these two reasons are predominantly specific to Russia. For more details on Russia’s requests, refer to the previously published article section titled “Russia aims to control its digital persona the most.”¹
South Korea is the leading country in the Privacy and Security category, accounting for 70% of the total requests.
When data from Russia (or both Russia and South Korea) is excluded, the top three reasons for requests shift to Privacy and Security, Defamation, and Fraud.
- Privacy and security requests involve claims of violations of an individual user's privacy or personal information. These may include, but are not limited to, identity theft, hacking, unwanted disclosure of personal information, non-consensual explicit imagery, or requests based on privacy laws;
- Defamation requests relate to harm to reputation, including but are not limited to claims of libel, slander, and corporate defamation;
- Fraud requests are related to claims of financial fraud, such as claims of employment scams and fraudulent financial activity.²
Regarding the most targeted Google products for these request reasons:
- Privacy and Security requests primarily focus on Web Search, YouTube, and Google Images;
- Defamation-related requests are mainly directed at YouTube, Web Search, and Local Reviews;
- Fraud-related requests predominantly target Google Ads, YouTube, and Web Search.
Top reasons for Google content removal each year
Looking at the most common reasons for Google content removal requests each year, excluding data from Russia, Privacy and Security consistently stand out as the top reason. This category was the most cited in 2021, 2022, and 2024. In contrast, Defamation was the leading reason in 2020, while Fraud took precedence in 2023. It is important to keep in mind that the most common reason for 2024 might change as more data becomes available throughout the year.
Effect on access to information online
Government requests to remove content from Google bring attention to the legal frameworks that influence access to information online. These requests often target political content and criticism of government actions. Governments typically reference laws related to defamation, privacy, and even copyright to restrict political speech on Google services. However, Google carefully reviews these requests to determine if the content violates any laws or product policies before deciding on the appropriate action to take.
Methodology and sources
This analysis examines Google content removal requests submitted by courts and government agencies across nearly 150 countries this decade — from January 2020 to June 2024. The data was collected on December 15, 2024.
Please note that a single request may encompass multiple items, but only one product and one reason can be specified per request. Consequently, this research primarily focuses on the number of content removal requests rather than the individual items they contain.
For the complete research material behind this study, visit here.
