Google reveals UK government makes most data requests

Search engine's Government Requests tool reveals UK put in 1,166 requests, the highest number of any country in Europe

Google's new tool exposes how much governments attempt to censor the net

The UK government has made the most data requests to Google of any country in Europe, with 1,166 requests between 1 July 2009 and 31 December 2009, according to a new Government Requests tool created by the search engine.

In an official Google blog that announced the tool, David Drummond, senior VP, corporate development and chief legal officer, said that government censorship of the internet is growing rapidly, with many national governments blocking and filtering web sites, as well as processing court orders that limit access to information.

The tool provides information to the public on requests for user data or content removal that it receives from government agencies around the world. The data is updated every six months.

Although the UK has made the most data requests of any country in Europe, globally, Brazil (3,663) and the US (3,580) have put in more requests. Google has not disclosed the number of requests from China, a country notorious for censoring internet access for its citizens.

In terms of requests to remove content, Brazil once again tops the list with 291 removal requests over the same period. Germany (188), India (142), US (123) and South Korea (64) follow, with the UK putting in 59 requests to remove content during the six-month period.

In his post, David Drummond cites Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The article states that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers".

“Written in 1948, the principle applies aptly to today's internet – one of the most important means of free expression in the world,” said Drummond.

He said that it is no surprise that Google and other technology companies regularly receive demands from government agencies to remove content from its services, explaining that many of the requests are entirely legitimate, such as requests for the removal of child pornography.

“We also regularly receive requests from law-enforcement agencies to hand over private user data. Again, the vast majority of these requests are valid and the information needed is for legitimate criminal investigations.”

“However, data about these activities historically has not been broadly available. We believe that greater transparency will lead to less censorship,” concluded Drummond.