Google resists two thirds of Aussie takedown requests

Google has resisted nearly two thirds of Australian government requests to remove content from its massive online archive, the most recent Google transparency report reveals.

According to the report, Google received 17 content removal requests from Australian governments, covering 646 individual items.

Google complied with 35 percent of the requests, ignoring the remaining 65 percent.

The majority of the items requested for take-down were related to privacy and security. One item related to Google’s mapping product, while six YouTube items were requested for removal.

Blogger, another Google property, received two takedown notices relating to defamation.

The number of requests made by Australian governments jumped significantly in the July-December 2011 period (the most recent time figures are available for).

In the January – June period, Australian governments asked Google to take down a total of ten items. Google complied with 40 percent of those requests.

Germany and the United States took the lead in takedown requests for the last half of 2011, with 1034 and 3851 items respectively.