Canada, Spain among countries asking Google to engage in censorship

Google is warning of an “alarming” trend by governments all over the world to request that content be removed from its search engine and YouTube, the Globe and Mail reports.

And it’s not only the usual suspects, such as China, that are engaging in such requests. According to Google’s Transparency Report, Western democracies, including Spain and Canada, have also approached the company to remove content:

From the Globe:

In Canada, Google was asked by officials to get rid of a YouTube video showing a citizen urinating on his passport and flushing it down the toilet. But in that instance the company refused.

(…) In one case, Spanish regulators asked Google to remove 270 links to blogs and newspaper articles criticizing public figures, including mayors and public prosecutors. So far Google has not complied. In March, Spain’s highest court asked the European Court of Justice to examine whether requests by citizens to have content removed were lawful.