Toward a More Meaningful Transparency: Examining Twitter, Google, and Facebook’s Transparency Reporting and Removal Practices in Russia

Abstract

Since 2010, telecommunications and internet companies have increased their use of transparency reports to gain user trust. These reports include data regarding government requests for user information, takedowns related to intellectual property, and government mandates to remove content. However, users and civil society criticize them for providing insufficient data about the companies’ content moderation practices and interactions with foreign governments. This paper empirically examines the transparency and removal practices of Twitter, Google, and Facebook in Russia. It identifies shortcomings in transparency reporting and suggests improvements to hold the companies accountable to their own transparency standards.

Keywords: Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Transparency, Russia, Social media practice, Lumen database