Electronic Frontier Foundation+Image
Transparent About Platform Policy Takedown Requests
Does the company report transparently on government platform policy takedown requests?
5460043
Researched

About the data

The Electronic Frontier Foundation examines major tech companies’ content moderation policies in the midst of massive government pressure to censor, assessing companies annually in their "Who Has Your Back" report.

This metric focuses on the company's Transparency About Platform Policy Takedown Requests. To earn a star (Yes) in this category, the service provider must regularly publish records of content or account restrictions based upon identifiable government allegations of violations of the provider’s policies, such as Terms of Service or Community Standards, regardless of whether the request came through channels for government requests or through customer service channels. This includes government requests alleging facts that lead to a content or account restriction based on a provider's policies.

The provider’s reporting should include, at a minimum, the information necessary to determine:

  • the number of requests received, 
  • the country from which the request originated, and
  • the number of requests acted upon and/or the number of posts removed or restricted or the number of accounts suspended, and
  • for service providers reporting on multiple products/platforms, the product/platform associated with the requested content or account.

Reporting must distinguish legal takedown requests from platform policy takedown requests.

A request is identifiably from a government if it is provided through official channels (such as an order issued by a competent judicial authority); if the requestor identifies themselves as a government official or relies upon their governmental position or authority; or if the provider otherwise is aware a government is being represented in the request.

See EFF's most recent reports to find answers to this question:

Who Has Your Back? 2019

Who Has Your Back? 2018

Star translations to metric categories: 

  • Full star = Yes
  • No star = No
  • Half star = Steps in the right direction
Value Type
Options
Yes
No
Steps in the right direction
Research Policy
Community Assessed
Report Type
Research Document