gov-takedowns is a public archive that documents government takedown notices received by GitHub.
The repository serves as a transparency resource, collecting the full text of legal takedown requests that GitHub receives from government entities. Rather than summarizing or interpreting these notices, the project preserves them in their original form, allowing researchers, journalists, policymakers, and the public to examine government censorship requests directly. This approach enables independent analysis of takedown patterns, jurisdictions, and claimed legal justifications without intermediary filtering.
This archive is most valuable for those studying internet censorship, government overreach, digital rights, and the intersection of law and technology platforms. It suits researchers conducting empirical analysis of takedown trends, advocates documenting censorship patterns, and anyone seeking transparency into how governments attempt to suppress online content. The repository makes no claims about the validity of the notices it contains and explicitly does not endorse the assertions within them, positioning itself as a neutral documentation tool rather than a commentary on their merit.
The project maintains a straightforward archival approach with minimal development activity. Updates occur infrequently as new notices are received and added to the collection. The repository does not undergo active feature development or architectural changes, reflecting its nature as a static documentation effort rather than an evolving software tool. Maintenance is limited to the periodic addition of new notice documents as they arrive.
