Google publishes government requests for user data

The UK Government made 1,343 requests for user information and 48 requests to remove content in the first six months of 2010, according to Google.

The search giant said that although many requests it receives, such as those for criminal cases or to remove child abuse websites, are entirely legitimate, it is concerned that government censorship of the web continues to grow rapidly.

Google said by letting people know the number of requests that have been made to it, there will be “greater transparency” which “will lead to less censorship”.

Google's Transparency Report shows people how many requests for information have been asked for and complied with and where its services such as Youtube are being blocked around the world.

The company's blog, launched in April, shows the number of government inquiries for information about users and requests it received to take down or censor content.

This has been upgraded with an interactive Government Requests map. This shows data from the first six months of 2010. For example the US made 4,287 requests for user information and 128 requests for content to be removed.

This section also includes updated analysis of the trends it saw across the data over the past six months.

David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer said: “Free expression is one of our core values… We hope this step toward greater transparency – and these tools – will help in ongoing discussions about the free flow of information.”

Google said it would update the site every six months.