Google hands over user data

Google has revealed it complied with 334 requests from Australian government agencies and courts to hand over user data in the six months to June this year.

The web giant's latest transparency report statistics show it received a total of 523 user data requests for the period, and complied with 64 percent of them.

The requests related to 841 specified users or accounts.

The 334 requests it complied with represents a 16 percent increase compared to the previous six months, between July and December 2011.

In the second half of 2011, Google received 444 requests in Australia, and complied with 288 of them.

The latest 2012 figures also show an increase in the average number of users or accounts per request.

On an average basis, each request in the first half of 2012 covered 1.6 users or accounts, up from 1.1 users or accounts per request last year.

The transparency report also sheds light on requests by governments for Google to remove content from its services.

"We received a request from a state government agency to remove a YouTube video of statements made against members of law enforcement," Google said in notes on Australian content removal requests.

"We did not remove content in response to this request."

Most removal requests came from police or as a result of court orders. Privacy and security, defamation and copyright were the top reasons cited for content removal.