RIAA: Google Failing To Demote Pirate Websites

Nerval's Lobster writes "The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claims that Google has failed in its attempt to lower the search-results rankings of so-called 'pirate' Websites. "We have found no evidence that Google's policy has had a demonstrable impact on demoting sites with large amounts of piracy," read the report's summary (PDF). 'These sites consistently appear at the top of Google's search results for popular songs or artists.' Last August, Google indicated that it would start lowering the search-result rankings of Websites with high numbers of 'valid' copyright removal notices. 'This ranking change should help users find legitimate, quality sources of content more easily—whether it's a song previewed on NPR's music website, a TV show on Hulu or new music streamed on Spotify,' Amit Singhal, Google's senior vice president of Engineering, wrote in a corporate blog posting at the time. Google, which receives millions of copyright removal notices every month, also offers a counter-notice tool for those who believe their Websites have been unfairly targeted for copyright violations."

Comments

Good for Google

[fustakrakich]

The RIAA can fuck off.

A search engine is supposed to search and display what it finds. I'll be the one to do the filtering

Re:Good for Google

[eksith]

That's not really fair for folks who don't even know about Linux (or think it's some kind of hacker thing... and there are still plenty of those). Is it fair for grandma to get a drive-by download because she got a new computer from Walmart that came with Windows? Is the web only meant for savvy users who build their own PC and sudo their way out of problems or into new functionality?

Your web oligarchy is a dystopia, with a twisted sense of survival of the fittest, that I'm glad I'll never see as long as level heads prevail. The /. crowd may run mostly Linux/BSD, but last I checked, a fair percentage are empathetic human beings that are all too aware the web is meant for everybody, savvy or not, technical or not, creative or not. I'd go as far as to say, the web is a fundamental right now that a significant portion of our ability to communicate is tied to it. If Google is doing its part to keep malware at bay, that's a plus.

Back on topic, RIAA is not protecting the world from malware and terrorism, so there's no reason for Google to give them the same level of respect.

Ban lobbying

[thej1nx]

Yes, because everyone *else* in the world even remotely/tangentially having anything to do with digital media, has an obligation to spend considerable time and money protecting Sony, BMG. etc.'s business.

Search engines must hire additional coders to ensure that internet is censored as per Sony 's whims. Hardware manufacturing companies must spend significant extra money on ensure DRM compliance. ISPs must spy on their customers to ensure that no copyright-infringement happens. Police which is funded by public tax money(you and me) must spend valuable time and effort on catching the nefarious "music stealers". Senators who are elected by the people and paid by public tax money, must instead ensure laws favoring BMG/Sony that make copying files a worse crime than rape or murder.

Whereas, the same "victim" companies, move their headquarters outside to cheat the American public out of the benefits of any tax money they might have had to pay. We have all the obligations to them. They have none to us or even the actual creators of the said music etc.

Soon doctors will likely be required to ensure that they perform free deafening procedures on everyone who might end up listening to "infringing music".

The solution is simple. Realize that lobbying is equivalent to bribery and force your senator to pass a law against it.