Via The Guardian:
Google faced down demands from a US law enforcement agency to take down YouTube videos allegedly showing police brutality earlier this year, figures released for the first time show.
[…]
The demands formed part of a 70% rise in takedown requests from the US government or police, and were revealed as part of an effort to highlight online censorship around the world.Figures revealed for the first time show that the US demanded private information about more than 11,000 Google users between January and June this year, almost equal to the number of requests made by 25 other developed countries, including the UK and Russia.
This is a novel way of cheating at Youtube. Most of the others that I’ve covered in the past involve filing false DMCA claims or using vote bots to bury videos by specific users before they have a chance to be seen. Thankfully, Google did not consent to these requests, and instead published these numbers, leading to far greater transparency. Hopefully Google continues to stand strong in the face of such dubious requests to cover up the truth about thugs in positions of authority.
Thus continues my love/hate relationship with Google.
What DuWayne said. I’m still not about to join Google+.
The government(s) should get smart and file DMCA notices instead. Automatic takedown of video right away, and if the person wants to complain, they have to protest using their full legal identifying information and valid address.