Australia and New Zealand Submit More Takedown Requests Than the Taliban
Australia and New Zealand have requested TikTok to remove more content than Taliban-controlled Iraq.
An analysis of TikTok’s published data shows that Australia and New Zealand sent more requests to remove material compared to Taliban-controlled Iraq. In the first six months of 2023, Australia submitted 470 requests, while New Zealand submitted 215. In contrast, Iraq only sent five requests. Russia and Bangladesh were the only countries with more requests, issuing 792 and 474 notices, respectively.
Despite this, Australia and New Zealand lead in per capita terms, with 5.35 and 4.06 notices per 100,000 population, respectively.
According to TikTok’s data, China, Myanmar, and India did not submit any requests for content removal.
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Australia’s Free Speech Union, which is running a petition to abolish the eSafety Commissioner’s office, recognizes that countries sending fewer requests may have lower TikTok usage among their citizens or block content at the internet service provider level. However, they are concerned that Australia may adopt a similar approach.
Reuben Kirkham, Co-Director of the Union, expressed his concern, stating, “If this happens, we would be in poor company, especially for a democratic society. This is one of the reasons we advocate for the abolition of the eSafety regime.”
