# Who Watches the Watchmen: Exploring Complaints on the Web

## TL;DR

This large-scale study analyzes over 1 billion web complaints, revealing patterns in complainant behavior, domain responses, and the impact of complaints on domain availability, with a focus on copyright enforcement and self-regulation mechanisms.

## Contribution

First comprehensive analysis of web complaints at scale, uncovering trends in complainant types, domain responses, and the effects of complaints on domain availability.

## Key findings

- Majority of complaints are related to copyright enforcement.
- Some complainants target specific domains in bulk.
- Many domains go offline shortly after complaints are filed.

## Abstract

Under increasing scrutiny, many web companies now offer bespoke mechanisms allowing any third party to file complaints (e.g., requesting the de-listing of a URL from a search engine). While this self-regulation might be a valuable web governance tool, it places huge responsibility within the hands of these organisations that demands close examination. We present the first large-scale study of web complaints (over 1 billion URLs). We find a range of complainants, largely focused on copyright enforcement. Whereas the majority of organisations are occasional users of the complaint system, we find a number of bulk senders specialised in targeting specific types of domain. We identify a series of trends and patterns amongst both the domains and complainants. By inspecting the availability of the domains, we also observe that a sizeable portion go offline shortly after complaints are generated. This paper sheds critical light on how complaints are issued, who they pertain to and which domains go offline after complaints are issued.