| @indianwolf1992: You can get some insight into the nature of some of the removal requests here: http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/faq/ I have some unanswered questions about these statistics, so if anyone can point me to an answer I'd appreciate it. Let's say Akira thinks someone is impersonating him online using some service provided by Google, so goes to court seeking a court order to compel Google to remove the content. The court, in this case in Japan, decides in Akira's favor and issues a court order to compel Google to remove the content. Does this court order from the government of Japan count towards Japan's removal requests? If so, then these statistics are perhaps less useful than they might appear to be at first glance. To put it more generally, I was surprised to see a category called court orders in the statistics. Are these governments obtaining court orders to make removal requests, or are these private individuals seeking a court order to make removal requests. If the former, then perhaps there is some reflection upon the government. If the latter, then I don't see it as having any reflection upon the government except for the favorable one that indicates the government supports a judicial process to allow citizens a redress of grievances. |