There’s now a one-stop shop for Google users to learn more about the tech giant’s product policies, including reporting inappropriate content or appealing a ban from a Google service. The company’s new Transparency Center, was unveiled Thursday in a blog post by David Graff, Google’s vice president of trust and safety.
“The Transparency Center collects existing resources and policies, and was designed with you in mind, providing easy access to information on our policies, how we create and enforce them, and much more,” the announcement reads.
It goes on to note that the site will include information on Google’s policy development process, its policies by product or service, reporting and appeal tools, transparency reports, and Google’s principles for privacy and artificial intelligence.
“As the online threat landscape changes, our policies evolve, helping to prevent abuse on our platforms,” Graff wrote in the post. “And since the uses of our products differ, we tailor our policies to each platform, aiming to create a safe and positive experience for everyone. With the Transparency Center, you can learn about our policy development process, how we enforce our policies, and view each policy by product and service.”
Perhaps the most practical use of the Transparency Center will be the option to report harmful content and to appeal bans or other enforcement actions. The site has a page dedicated to appeals and reporting. And a safety section explains the company’s work in security, noting that Gmail blocks over 100 million phishing attempts every day.
“Our appeals process aims to ensure due process, efficiency and transparency for users appealing our enforcement decisions,” the post notes.
Google first launched transparency reports over a decade ago, and they can now be viewed in full on the site.
