Changes

==Censorship==

==Censorship==

Ao3 has been excluded from google search results or banned in a number of countries.

AO3's content policies comply with U.S. law. A few countries with more restrictive speech laws have outright blocked or limited access to the website:

* '''China:''' In February 2020, Ao3 became inaccessible to users in mainland China. The reason for AO3's block has never been officially acknowledged, but occurred after fans of [[Xiao Zhan]] allegedly reported the site to the Chinese government over a fanfic about him. See [[Blocking of AO3 in China]].  

* '''China:''' In February 2020, AO3 became inaccessible to users in mainland China. The reason for the block has never been officially acknowledged, but occurred after fans of [[Xiao Zhan]] allegedly reported the site to the Chinese government over a fanfic about him. See [[Blocking of AO3 in China]].  

* '''Germany:''' In December 2022, German users reported that Ao3 links were no longer returned in Google search results. The URL remained accessible directly but Google users were unable to find AO3's URL via the search function. Notices on Google suggest that Ao3 was removed from search results due to receipt of a local law complaint, with the URL reported as illegal under German Youth Protection laws.<Ref>[https://wordsintimeandspace.tumblr.com/post/704451009930493952/this-is-what-currently-happens-when-you-google-ao3 This is what currently happens when you google AO3 in Germany] a tumblr post by wordsintimeandspace, Dec 23 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.tumblr.com/alpaca-clouds/705706633704128512/germany-google-and-the-ao3-thing?source=share Germany Google and the Ao3 thing] a tumblr post by alpaca-clouds, January 6 2023]</ref> The site was indexed by the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons due to "child pornography content". Because Google implements the Federal Department's block list, AO3 does not appear in Google search results within Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filterung der Website "archiveofourown.org" bei Google Deutschland |url=https://fragdenstaat.de/anfrage/filterung-der-website-archiveofourown-org-bei-google-deutschland/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=fragdenstaat.de |language=de}}</ref>

* '''Germany:''' In December 2022, German users reported that AO3 links were no longer returned in Google search results. The URL remained accessible directly but Google users were unable to find AO3's URL via the search function. Notices on Google suggest that AO3 was removed from search results due to receipt of a local law complaint, with the URL reported as illegal under German Youth Protection laws.<Ref>{{source|url= https://wordsintimeandspace.tumblr.com/post/704451009930493952/this-is-what-currently-happens-when-you-google-ao3 | title= This is what currently happens when you google AO3 in Germany | archiveurl= https://archive.ph/TJ0qo }}, a tumblr post by wordsintimeandspace, Dec 23 2022.</ref><ref>{{source| url=https://alpaca-clouds.tumblr.com/705706633704128512/germany-google-and-the-ao3-thing | title= Germany Google and the Ao3 thing | archiveurl= https://archive.ph/Nk6Pa }}, a tumblr post by alpaca-clouds, January 6 2023.</ref> The site was indexed by the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons due to "child pornography content". Because Google implements the Federal Department's block list, AO3 does not appear in Google search results within Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filterung der Website "archiveofourown.org" bei Google Deutschland |url=https://fragdenstaat.de/anfrage/filterung-der-website-archiveofourown-org-bei-google-deutschland/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=fragdenstaat.de |language=de}}</ref>

==Communities==

==Communities==