Google Says Government Censorship Is Growing

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) just released its latest data today on content removal requests it receives from governments -- and it doesn't look good. It said that such requests have increased from 1,811 requests for 18,070 pieces of content in the first half of 2012 to 2,285 requests on 24,179 pieces of content from July to Dec. 2012.

The company started its Transparency Report three years ago in an effort to show how governments across the globe try to censor data, and this latest release is the seventh.

Google said on its blog that, "As we've gathered and released more data over time, it's become increasingly clear that the scope of government attempts to censor content on Google services has grown. In more places than ever, we've been asked by governments to remove political content that people post on our services."

The company has made the online report available to everyone and said it has improved it to show whether or not YouTube videos were taken down because of community guidelines or local laws. The report now also tracks known disruptions to Google services in specific regions.

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