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Automated DMCA Takedown Notices Request Censorship of Legitimate Sites
Techmeology writes "Microsoft has sent automated DMCA notices to Google demanding the removal of several legitimate URLs from its search results that Microsoft claims were facilitating the distribution of illegal copies of Windows 8, including links to BBC news articles, Wikipedia pages, U.S. government websites, and even Bing! The erroneous DMCA notices are being sent automatically by rights holders, who are increasingly using such techniques."
Was looking for some info on QAM tuning for my tv tuner card and google search had a warning about blocked content at the bottom of each search results page.
Someone please send DMCA takedown notices to all sites currently covering the US presidential election. That might get the problem fixed.
Sounds like Google would be well within their rights now to label Microsoft a spam network and ignore ALL future takedown requests.
Waiting for an amusing sig.
An automated notice should fall afoul of the portion of the notice which must be sworn under penalty of perjury. You know, the part that says you are the person who owns the copyright to the work you're claiming (not under penalty of perjury) is being hosted illegally at the listed URL(s).
Captcha: victim
With zero penalty for bad takedown notices, even those sent in bad faith, I'm amazed this hasn't happened sooner and on a much larger scale.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
With all the embarrassment from a snafu like this, Microsoft is sure to reform their ways. Starting with a complete rewrite of the DMCA-auto tool in something other than VB.net.
dcma takedowns, it should be.
Right now rightsholders and the anti-piracy outfits they employ have absolutely no incentive to improve the accuracy of their automated takedown systems, so perhaps it’s time for them to be punished?
That is the problem--they have nothing to lose. If automated detection can't differentiate between illegal, fair use, and completely unrelated content (as in this case), then someone needs to be held liable for that junk.
If I called a towing company claimed that the car you had parked in your driveway was mine and that I wanted it towed to my house, that would be theft.
Microsoft has nothing to lose from this. Removing legitimate sites from Google's index only helps Bing.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
The point is that you should not be automating something that claims to be 100% accurate under penalty of perjury at identifying content on the internet when we know that it's simply not possible to write such a thing.
You should create a corporation and sign your computer over to it. Then if it does get sued just have the corp sell you the computer for 1$, then let it go bankrupt in the suit. Isn't capitalism great?
Perhaps you haven't put the line through all the dots yet... that is the plan. Crush the internet as we know it, and replace it with something that resembles phone service. You pay for their service, they give you what they feel like, you pay what they demand, and you shut your mouth and enjoy it, or do without. This wild anything goes hippy-fest, communist plot that we currently call the internet is an unending pain in their collective sides and they must do anything they can to kill it, so when you say you hope it dies, you're in fact serving their interest.
It is time for Americans, to build a completely free and unregulated internet. One not subject to government control, and for the luv-o-jebus utterly inaccessible to large corporate interests. It should be free, open and paid for by donations from users who want to circumvent the increasingly pay-per-screw models being inflicted on the users by the monolithic service providers of the world. Most important, it should route around existing systems of control and manipulation. There is no sane argument against having a free and unrestricted system of communications among people. We've been fed lies and hyperbole by people whose interest is that we keep the masses in line. This isn't about stopping a handful of predators, and it never has been. You don't destroy a $50,000 vehicle to get at a 10 cent fuse. Our entire society has become a means by which wealthy powers have concentrated wealth and power to give them control and authority over the groveling masses. Its about time for the masses to tell the powers to kiss their collective asses, we'll take care of ourselves thanks.