Introduction
This is the first annual transparency report released by GIPHY to demonstrate our commitment to meaningful transparency and accountability. This report will provide metrics around government and non-government requests for user data as well as enforcement measures we have taken on content on our platform between January 1st 2021 and December 31st 2021. GIPHY is committed to respecting the internationally recognized human rights guidelines set out in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), privacy, and free expression. Individuals can appeal if they believe no violation has occurred.
Content Removals for Prohibited Content
The following section displays the total amount of prohibited content removed from the GIPHY platform, along with the corresponding policy violation category. GIPHY identifies content proactively that violates its Community Guidelines with both human moderators and machine learning models. In addition, Community members are encouraged to use the tools provided to report any content they believe violates the guidelines, which is then reactively reviewed by human moderators. Although GIFs account for a majority of the prohibited content shown here, these totals also include Stickers and Clips.
For more information, please review how to report an inappropriate Gif.
GIPHY started tracking content takedown categories in July 2021. Any content taken down between January 1, 2021 and July 1, 2021 is reported as “non specified” in the chart.
DMCA Requests and Takedowns
DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. DMCA requests refers to notices requesting the removal of content that infringes on a copyright sent by or on behalf of the copyright owner. When GIPHY receives a complete and valid copyright notice, we comply with the notice and send a counter notice when appropriate.
For more information, please review the GIPHY DMCA Copyright Policy.
Preservation Requests
Preservation requests refers to government and law enforcement requests that require GIPHY to preserve account information pending the issuance of valid legal process to obtain that user data. In accordance with the law, GIPHY will temporarily preserve such data and will disclose the preserved records when we receive formal and valid legal process.
Government Information Requests
Government information requests refers to demands for account information issued by law enforcement and other government agencies. GIPHY reviews requests to ensure that the requests have a valid legal basis. If they do, we comply by providing data responsive to the request.
Civil Requests
Civil requests refer to non-government requests (e.g., a subpoena or court order) submitted by users, and third parties seeking account information from GIPHY on behalf of a defendant in a criminal case. Non-government requests may include requests made by government entities as a party in civil litigation.
GIPHY did not have any Civil requests in 2021.