This problem just keeps getting bigger, because Google is now relying on AI and other types of automation for so many things. Pretty much if your website has a low to moderate domain authority, and scammers or haters submit a fraudulent “takedown” or censorship request to Google, they will down-rank the article or web page until the process has been responded to. Sometimes this takes weeks or months, and if the scammers are submitting multiple complaints every so often, they can effectively hide certain discussions or journalism from appearing in search results for long-term… some years ago, Google waited for a U.S. court order before censoring results, but now it’s just a fucking AI that automatically down-ranks your web page into oblivion if the domain authority is not super strong.
Even strong DA sites like Reddit or major newspapers can get their web pages hidden for several days using this method.
All the prophecies are coming soon. Who could have predicted!
Crazy if too… is there any way to track it when some asshole submits these requests to Google?
No there’s not, there are no public records. A criminal’s wet dream. They scam someone, or rape someone, or whatever, and then submit tons of censorship demands to Google or hire some Indian on Upwork do it each week, and bingo, they can hide all their sins from the web.
Even with a subpoena to Google I’m not sure how much data they are able/allowed to give to out.
Freedom of the press is facing growing restrictions from technology policies that censor the media under the guise of protecting privacy. US and European copyright and privacy laws transcend borders and affect how news media can operate globally. Fundamental journalistic practices such as the ability to claim fair use and conduct investigative reporting in the public interest are under threat.
This paper examines the global impact of techno-legal regimes such as the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (Copyright Directive), and the “right to be forgotten” and the EU General Data Protection Regulation. The misuse of regulations developed in the Global North is particularly detrimental to media outlets in the Global South, which regularly face censorship. This paper offers solutions to protect news media from the silencing efforts of powerful government and business actors.
This abstract for that CIGI paper is an interesting geopolitical perspective.
