Country | Court Orders | Requests from government agencies or law enforcement | Number of sites specified | Percentage of requests where content was removed due to a violation of our policies | Percentage of requests where content was removed solely in response to the demand |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 0% |
Colombia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
France | 0 | 17 | 19 | 65% | 12% |
Germany | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0% | 0% |
India | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0% | 0% |
Israel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
Italy | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0% | 0% |
Pakistan | 0 | 18 | 172* | 6% | 72% |
Russia | 0 | 355 | 95 | 23% | 70% |
Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
Turkey | 60 | 0 | 124 | 38% | 45% |
United States | 0 | 2 | 2 | 50% | 0% |
Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
TOTAL | 60 | 408 | 429 | 25% | 62% |
For demands that come from Pakistan, Russia, and Turkey, we geoblock the specific content or site(s) at issue, so that WordPress.com remains otherwise accessible in the country. You can read a bit more about our approach to Russian takedown demands here.
Recent Examples
Here are a few recent examples of takedown demands that we received:
Germany
- The police department of Goettingen requested the removal of a site which they believed to be defamatory and created for the purpose of harassment.
Pakistan
- The Web Analysis Team of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) requested the removal of sites that were “blasphemous.”
Russia
- Office for the Protection of Rights of Personal Data Subjects with the Central Office of Roskomnadzor requested removal of information they believe to be private.
Sweden
- The Swedish police reported a site that was allegedly selling “substances that are unlicensed and a danger to health within Sweden.”