The “Innocence of Muslims” movie trailer was amongst the videos with the most removal requests from different countries around the world, according to the Google Transparency Report.
In total 20 countries asked Google to remove the movie trailer, arguing they violated communities guidelines. These were Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, Djibouti, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Maldives, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
As a result of the numerous requests Google restricted the viewing of the video in nine countries: Indonesia, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Turkey.
In two countries, Egypt and Libya, Google temporarily restricted viewing due to “difficult circumstances”.
Google says overall the company has seen increased censorship attempts from governments, with states becoming intolerant to political content.
The year 2012 witnessed more requests than ever, crossing the two thousand mark with court orders topping the request.
Google says transparency remains a core value at Google as it seeks to maximise transparency around the flow of information related to tools and services.
“We believe that more information means more choice, more freedom and ultimately more power for the individual,” read a statement on the Google blog.
