Google copyright removal requests double to 77 million
Biggest copyrights holders submitting over 1m requests each week

Google has received 77 million copyright removal requests in the past month, more than double the 34 million it received the same time last year.
Requests for the search giant to remove URLs that allegedly infringe copyright from its search results hit a record high of 21 million last week, compared to just 9.5 million in the corresponding week of 2015.
Google's transparency report is a partial record of the DMCA takedown requests it has received via its web submissions form. The data excludes other Google-owned services, such as YouTube and Blogger.
Requests for removal are made most frequently by copyright holders and reporting agencies that monitor the web on their behalf, and have shot up since Google started reporting takedown requests in July 2011. That year, it received less then a million requests to pull URLs.
In a submission to the US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in October, Google said that the unrelenting surge in removal demands does not influence its takedown speeds.
Furthermore, the company has not complied with recommendations by the US government for "whole-site" removals, insisting that copyright holders continue to report individual infringing URLs.
Google argues that the removal of entire domains would lead to greater censorship.
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
New regulation and changes to law in the EU, such as the Privacy Shield deal, mean rights holders may yet turn the pressure up on Google further still.
-
Jensen Huang says AI will make us busier – so what’s the point?
Opinion So much for efficiency gains and focusing on the more “rewarding” aspects of your job
-
This DeepSeek-powered pen testing tool could be a Cobalt Strike successor
News ‘Villager’, a tool developed by a China-based red team project known as Cyberspike, is being used to automate attacks under the guise of penetration testing.
-
Three things you need to know about the EU Data Act ahead of this week's big compliance deadline
News A host of key provisions in the EU Data Act will come into effect on 12 September, and there’s a lot for businesses to unpack.
-
UK financial services firms are scrambling to comply with DORA regulations
News Lack of prioritization and tight implementation schedules mean many aren’t compliant
-
What the US-China chip war means for the tech industry
In-depth With China and the West at loggerheads over semiconductors, how will this conflict reshape the tech supply chain?
-
Former TSB CIO fined £81,000 for botched IT migration
News It’s the first penalty imposed on an individual involved in the infamous migration project
-
Microsoft, AWS face CMA probe amid competition concerns
News UK businesses could face higher fees and limited options due to hyperscaler dominance of the cloud market
-
Online Safety Bill: Why is Ofcom being thrown under the bus?
Opinion The UK government has handed Ofcom an impossible mission, with the thinly spread regulator being set up to fail
-
Can regulation shape cryptocurrencies into useful business assets?
In-depth Although the likes of Bitcoin may never stabilise, legitimising the crypto market could, in turn, pave the way for more widespread blockchain adoption
-
UK gov urged to ease "tremendous" and 'unfair' costs placed on mobile network operators
News Annual licence fees, Huawei removal costs, and social media network usage were all highlighted as detrimental to telco success