Requests to remove content due to copyright
Google regularly receives requests to remove content that may infringe copyright. This report provides data on requests to remove Search results that link to such material. Our goal is to help everyone understand the impact that copyright has on available content through transparency.
Websites affected
URLs Removed
Status of URLs
| Transparency Report | Copyright Removals
Requests Over Time
The graph below shows the volume of requests to remove or delist content due to alleged copyright infringement since July 2012. We push back on these requests when they fail to include the necessary information or we suspect they are fraudulent.
Examples
An anti-piracy enforcement firm representing a music label filed a copyright complaint asking us to delist dozens of homepages containing the word “coffee” in the title. These URLs had nothing to do with the identified copyrighted work.
We did not delist the URLs from Google Search.
An individual impersonating a prominent anti-piracy enforcement firm filed a copyright complaint targeting several URLs from an adult film website. We occasionally receive requests from individuals who impersonate major anti-piracy firms.
We did not delist the URLs from Google Search on the grounds of fraudulent copyright claims.
An anti-piracy enforcement firm representing a film studio filed a copyright complaint identifying dozens of Github URLs to delist, presumably because each URL contained the name of a movie produced by the studio. However, the content at the Github URLs did not contain any allegedly infringing content.
We did not delist the URLs from Google Search on the grounds of abusive takedown practices.
An individual claiming to be a candidate for political office in Egypt filed a copyright complaint to delist 2 pages on Egyptian news sites reporting on the individual's arrest record.
We did not delist the URLs from Google Search on the grounds of fraudulent copyright claims.
An individual wrote a negative review of a business on a complaints website. After the business threatened litigation for false allegations, the individual filed a copyright complaint to delist the page containing the review.
We did not delist the URL from Google Search on the grounds that, per the site’s Terms of Service, copyright ownership of published reviews belong to the site itself.
A member of an indie-pop band filed a copyright complaint to delist a Vimeo URL because the page displayed an unauthorized music video featuring one of the band's songs. The individual had been unsuccessful in contacting Vimeo and the video’s uploader.
We delisted the URL from Google Search on the grounds that the video uploader did not have authorization to use the copyrighted song.
Process
A copyright owner sends us a takedown notice for allegedly infringing material.
When we receive a valid takedown notice, our teams carefully review it for completeness and check for other problems.
If the notice is complete and we find no other issues, we remove the URL from results.
When we take action in response to a notice, we notify the administrator of the affected site through Google’s Search Console.
Following DMCA process, a webmaster may issue a counter notification.
The administrator of an affected site or the provider of affected content may file a counter notification.
Upon receiving a counter notification, we decide whether or not to reinstate the material.
Google does not act as a mediator. If the copyright owner still believes the content is illegal, they can file a lawsuit.
This data is updated daily and represents the information submitted by individuals who make copyright removal requests. It may contain inaccuracies. Learn more