Reddit has released its 2019 Transparency report, providing its users with information on third party requests that either required the platform to remove content or disclose private user data. Reddit states that 2.77 billion pieces of content were created on the platform last year and it removed just over 53 million of them in total. When it comes to specific content policy violations, it removed 222,309 pieces of content along with 22,910 Subreddits and 55,994 accounts. Content was taken down for a variety of reasons. For example, 39% of removals occurred due to harassment, 25.2% was taken down for minor sexualization and 16.6% was removed because the content was violent.
The Transparency Report also contained some interesting data on the governments making the most requests to remove content. Along with other platforms such as Twitter, Reddit has developed into an important outlet for political discussion, debate and commentary, to the chagrin of some world leaders. In 2019, Reddit received a total of 110 requests from government entities to remove or restrict access to certain content on the platform. The report notes that governments make such requests for a variety of reasons, such as alleged violations of local law. Each request is scrutinized and Reddit may reject it if it is overboard or inconsistent with international law.
Turkey and Russia have a long history of attempting to silence critics of their leaders and it comes as little surprise to see both countries at the top of the content removal list. Turkey made the most removal requests of any country in 2019 with 50, while Russia came second with 36. Canada was in third place with eight requests, while Pakistan followed with four. Out of the 110 government requests throughout the year, the platform complied with 41 (37.3%) and took no action regarding the remaining 69 (62.7%).
*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)
Government requests to remove content on Reddit by country in 2019
