Google Releases New Copyright Transparency ReportParker Higgins Though Google has posted the content of takedown requests to Chilling Effects where possible before, this report presents the data collectively (and graphically) for the first time. Striking is the sheer volume of takedown notices Google receives: in just the last month, it processed over 1.2 million requests for Search alone, from 1,296 copyright owners and 1,087 reporting organizations. That scale allows it to present trends in the data that might not otherwise be apparent. For example, even in the case of notorious pirate sites like The Pirate Bay, Google has received takedown notices for less than 5% of their indexable pages. Google explains that its complied with 97% of takedown requests received between July and December of 2011, but also provides examples of obviously invalid copyright requests its received. Those examples range from cases of negligent over-application, such as movie studios who have attempted to remove IMDB entries or links to legitimate trailers for their movies, to clear attempts at censorship, such as businesses who have issued takedown requests for employee accounts of unfair treatment. Of course, there are even more ridiculous examples: the report describes a reporting company sending a takedown notice for links to earlier takedown notices that obviously did not infringe. Given its importance as a starting point for many users, removal from Googles index can have devastating consequences on speech. Google has done the right thing by pushing back on bogus takedown notices, both by reviewing and rejecting those requests the first time, and by publishing real data about the behavior of copyright holders and reporting organizations. As with the government transparency reports, reporting on copyright notices can expose bad practices and allow people to assign blame where it belongs: with the people abusing the system. We hope this is just the beginning: Google should extend the program out to their other properties like YouTube and Blogger, and other online service providers should follow suit. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 