F7. Data about private requests for content or account restriction

1. Does the company break out the number of requests it receives by country?
2. Does the company list the number of accounts affected?
3. Does the company list the number of pieces of content or URLs affected?
4. Does the company list the reasons for removal associated with the requests it receives?
5. Does the company describe the types of parties from which it receives requests?
6. Does the company list the number of requests it complied with?
7. Does the company publish the original requests or disclose that it provides copies to a public third-party archive?
8. Does the company report this data at least once a year?
9. Can the data be exported as a structured data file?
10. Does the company clearly disclose that its reporting covers all types of private requests that it receives?

Companies frequently receive requests from private parties to remove, filter, or restrict content or accounts. We expect companies to regularly publish data about the number and type of private requests it receives, and the number of such requests with which it complies.. This indicator focuses on private requests that come through some sort of defined or organized process. This can be a process established by law, (e.g., requests made under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the European Right to be Forgotten ruling, etc.) or a self-regulatory arrangement (e.g., company agreements to block certain types of images). This indicator does not examine company reporting on content or accounts restricted under terms of service enforcement mechanisms; that is evaluated in indicator F4.

In some cases, the law might prevent a company from disclosing information referenced in this indicator’s elements. For example, we expect companies to publish exact numbers rather than ranges of numbers. We acknowledge that laws sometimes prevent companies from doing so, and researchers will document situations where this is the case. But a company will lose points if it fails to meet all elements. This represents a situation where the law causes companies to be uncompetitive, and we encourage companies to advocate for laws that enable them to fully respect users’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy.

Potential sources:

• Company transparency report