Finding 1 — A quarter of the national registry is dead weight
Each square ≈ 549 websites. Blue: live & present on Google (39,631 — 72.2%). Hatched: dead/broken/parked (13,962 — 25.4%). Amber: live but invisible on Google (1,101 — 2.0%). Dashed outline: other, incl. DMCA and invalid records (208 — 0.4%).
Of the 13,962 vanished sites: 11,187 domains no longer resolve at all, 1,122 return server errors, 766 refuse connections, 630 are parked or for sale, and 257 redirect to a different domain. A government registry consumers are told to consult for trust still lists thousands of corpses — and expired domains can be re-purchased by bad actors who inherit the "registered business" paper trail.
Finding 2 — 1,101 live sites customers cannot find
After removing dead sites, 1,725 normal-looking sites initially showed no Google presence. Re-checking every site (including subdomains) confirmed 1,101 sites have zero results on a site: query — the business pays for hosting and filed government papers, but to search customers they do not exist. Common causes: bot blocks, forgotten noindex tags, unindexed site — or worst: active DMCA takedowns.
Finding 3 — At least 57 sites under DMCA removal (~1 in 963)
Each dot represents a registered site — the red dot is a site undergoing active DMCA removal (0.104% ≈ 1 in 963).
DMCA takedowns allow copyright owners to remove infringing URLs — but are also abused with fake claims to knock competitor search presence offline. Of the 57 sites under removal (verified double-pass via Lumen Database):
- 4 sites lost all Google search index — even exact name queries fail (health, fashion, furniture, industrial equipment);
- 1 site lost its homepage from search results (food industry) — the digital storefront removed while inner pages remain;
- remaining sites lost from 1 URL to large page clusters.
The 57 figure is a lower bound: removal notices do not render 100% consistently on every query — this study almost missed 3 cases without manual cross-checks. And the most concerning point: Google usually sends no direct notification to site owners (unless Search Console is set up) — businesses only discover when revenue drops unexpectedly.
Check Your Website — 10-Minute Audit
Run Automated DMCA Scan
Search site:yourdomain.com on Google, or use our free automated scanner.
Search LumenDatabase.org
Check the public legal registry where all copyright complaints filed with Google are recorded.
Set Up Google Search Console
The only official channel Google uses to proactively notify site owners of legal URL removals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the data come from?
From the public registry at online.gov.vn (Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade), exported 29 July 2026 — 55,963 records, 54,902 unique domains after normalization. Every domain was checked for Google presence; every anomaly cohort was verified 100%, not sampled.
How were DMCA removals detected and verified?
A site: query per domain, detecting Google's removal notice (the LumenDatabase.org link or Google's standard notice wording), then a second machine pass plus manual verification of every flagged case on Lumen Database. Because the SERP notice does not render on every fetch, the 57 figure is a lower bound.
Can a site removed by a DMCA complaint recover?
Yes. The owner can file a §512(g) counter-notice — the platform baseline is usually 10–14 business days when self-filed. Most affected owners never learn this right exists, which is why abusive takedowns work so well.
About the Study & Citation
Study conducted by DMCA AI in July 2026, using only public data (online.gov.vn registry + Google Search results). No private site data collected, no specific business identities named. All figures reproducible from raw data. Media and researchers are free to cite with attribution to "DMCA AI"; for methodology inquiries: contact us or email khiet@dmcaai.com. DMCA AI is not a law firm; this content is not legal advice.
DMCA AI Original Research — 100% count of Vietnam's national e-commerce registry.