The time has come to share the latest transparency report for WordPress.com and Tumblr, covering the period of January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023. In this, we provide details of the various types of requests that we get from governments, including those that ask for user information, as well as content removal. Additionally, we also present data on intellectual property-related takedown demands, including those relating to alleged copyright infringement and trademark disputes.
Intellectual Property
While the number of DMCA takedown notifications that WordPress.com has received over the previous three reporting periods has remained relatively stable, with an average of 3,435 submissions, in the current reporting period, we’ve noticed a considerable decrease to 2,412. Despite this, there was a notable spike in the percentage of incomplete notices, surging to a peak of 1,857 (or 77% of all notices this period) which is 13% higher than the previous reporting period. This is also the largest amount of incomplete notices that we’ve received since the latter half of 2020.
Most of these incomplete notices were submitted through seemingly automated processes that are provided by content removal companies which often charge content creators to exercise their rights. For example, these notices primarily focused on content we cache for other hosting providers to optimize load times, meaning we are not the originating host and not the proper party to submit takedown notices to.
This type of careless use of the DMCA makes it harder for platforms to efficiently process valid takedown notifications. In the past, we have highlighted similar problematic trends such as the negative impact of automated takedown notices submitted by bots. For our part, we meticulously review each takedown notice we receive so that we can identify the validity, push back on abuse, and help our users understand their rights such as Fair Use. For those that are unsure about how to craft a copyright takedown complaint, we provide a clear form to make the process as straightforward as possible. In the past, we have also open sourced our approach, and we encourage other hosting providers to borrow from this.
Government Information Requests
Outside of IP, there was an increase in the number of Government Information Requests that were received from the United States during this reporting period. Requests aimed at WordPress.com users rose from 24 during the previous period to 44. Amongst these, we received a much larger percentage of court orders (as opposed to subpoenas or search warrants) – making up 32% of the total, compared to just 4% in the previous period. The number of requests from the United States for Tumblr user information almost doubled during this same period, from 68 to 124.
While we welcome increased judicial oversight of information requests, we also do our best to push back on requests which don’t meet our legal standards. As always, we notify our users of these types of government requests unless prohibited by law.
We hope you find our transparency report helpful and informative. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact us and let us know.
Transparency Report 