Google has been asked by U.S. authorities to remove 92 videos of police brutality, the company revealed in an update to an online transparency report. The IT giant has also revealed that it has submitted 11,057 users’ information to U.S. authorities. This puts the U.S. at the top of a list of governments requesting user information. Other top countries on the list include Brazil and India. Russia is on the bottom of the list, with just 10 requests to remove content and 42 requests for user information.
Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, points out that censorship of a public platform such as YouTube should be accompanied by a court order. “Police seem to be advising Google on what material might be breaking the law, then Google decides to censor the material without a court order,” he said, emphasizing that such decisions should be accompanied by a court appearance. Google was pressured by activists and did not comply with the government’s request.
