GitHub reports surge in government takedown requests
GitHub says government takedown requests jumped from 98 in 2025 to 708 in the first half of 2026. But this isn't about new crackdowns—it's due to changes in how they're counting and reporting requests. Most flagged content isn't coming down, and GitHub is trying to keep the process transparent. Content-removal numbers stay low, despite all the notifications.
- Government takedown requests rose over sevenfold year-on-year
- Increase due to broader definitions and duplicate counting
- Actual content removals remain rare
- GitHub publishes data for public transparency
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