Google reveals 68% rise in content removal requests in first half of 2013

In its Transparency Report for first half of 2013, Google has revealed that requests for content removal by governments have increased by 68 percent over the second half of 2012.

The search giant has disclosed that from January to June 2013, it received 3,846 government requests to remove 24,737 pieces of content.

According to the Express Tribune, it was found that Pakistan was among the countries with the least requests for content removal, while Turkey made the most requests.

The report aims to provide raw evidence of how laws and policies affect access to information online.

Following the key NSA revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden, tech companies have started to release their annual transparency reports to gain back user trust and lay bare the kind of requests made by governments in the world on user data.