Google's six month transparency report for the first six months of the year is out and it has some interesting figures...
The number of requests from the U.S. government for user data from Google has of course risen for the first six months of the year comapred to the six months before it. User data was requested 7,969 times for the first six months which is a 26.07% increase from the six months before it. These requests covered 16,281 user accounts more than any other country and almost as much as all the other countries combined! The amount that of things the U.S. government has requested isn't even really the part that worries me though. Its the fact that Google has complied with 90% of all the requests made by the U.S. for user data.
Now on to removal requests made by the U.S. in the first six months of the year. These total 273 requests for content removal which is a 46% increase from the six month period before it. The 273 requests asked for 4,167 items total to be removed. Luckily on some of these Google has remembered that we do have first ammendment rights and has denied five requests and a court order to remove 7 YouTube videos criticizing the government.
Keep in mind that this is just an overview of some of the figures released in Googles transparency report. For the full numbers go to http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/