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Google Asked to Remove a Billion 'Pirate' Search Results in a Year (torrentfreak.com)

Copyright holders asked Google to remove more than 1,000,000,000 allegedly infringing links from its search engine over the past twelve months, TorrentFreak reports. According to stats provided in Google's Transparency Report for the past one year, Google was asked to remove over one billion links -- or 1,007,741,143 links. From the article: More than 90 percent of the links, 908,237,861 were in fact removed. The rest of the reported links were rejected because they were invalid, not infringing, or duplicates of earlier requests. In total, Google has now processed just over two billion allegedly infringing URLs from 945,000 different domains. That the second billion took only a year, compared to several years for the first, shows how rapidly the volume of takedown requests is expanding. At the current rate, another billion will be added by the end of next summer. Most requests, over 50 million, were sent in for the website 4shared.com. However, according to the site's operators many of the reported URLs point to the same files, inflating the actual volume of infringing content.

68 comments

  1. Always check the Chilling Effects link. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Usually the links are listed somewhere in there. It's a little harder to sort through, but the URLs usually identify what's in them.

    1. Re:Always check the Chilling Effects link. by negRo_slim · · Score: 2

      we simply need a uncensored search engine. why is no one filling this niche?

      --
      On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
    2. Re:Always check the Chilling Effects link. by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How much are you willing to pay for such a service?

      I would imagine you have just answered your own question.

    3. Re: Always check the Chilling Effects link. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      50 million of the 1 billion requests is "most of the requests" because Slashdot news article creators can't do the most basic math.

    4. Re:Always check the Chilling Effects link. by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Yacy is making an effort... decentralized P2P is the way. It should be more difficult to shut down, but it could be easier to pollute. After that, your ISP will be the next obstacle to overcome.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    5. Re:Always check the Chilling Effects link. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      we simply need a uncensored search engine. why is no one filling this niche?

      Uncensored should be the default mode & service...I mean, they're called "SEARCH" engines for a reason. Then the searcher makes a choice, for better or for worse. (It would be funny if the NSA, et. al said "Hold on, Goggle we need you to show every search result as a matter of national security, so we can see who follows the links, and stop the terrorists")

    6. Re:Always check the Chilling Effects link. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yandex.com free pirate))

    7. Re:Always check the Chilling Effects link. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If all you filesharing dumbfucks would do your torrenting ENTIRELY WITHIN Anonymous Overlay Networks such as I2P, Phantom, Tor, GnuNet, OnionCat, etc, without EVER TOUCHING CLEARNET as per the included overlay services instructions, then you could share at will 24x7x365 without fear of takedown.

    8. Re:Always check the Chilling Effects link. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some of these overlay nets are fast enough for me to share a lossless cd and movie, plus a book and app, out to the world or down to me, per day.... more than enough for anyone with a real life can actually make use of. The configuration isn't that hard. And you can use whatever your favorite torrent app is, though Vuze and Transmisson are the best.
      And thanks to the strong anonymity offered by these networks, I'm working on my own torrent index site now too :-)

  2. gooey goo goo goo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I honestly don't comprehend this. Is Google the only search engine on all the interwebs or something?

    (Yeah I know it's not. 'member DogPile?)

    1. Re:gooey goo goo goo by Tablizer · · Score: 2

      Is Google the only search engine on all the interwebs or something?

      It's the one that matters the most. Being on Bing etc. may not worry the alleged content owners nearly as much. Perhaps Bing gets a lot of removal requests also. Bing it and find out. (You can google Bing, and you can bing Google. ee-eye, ee-eye, oh)

      Bad link removal fees could be a nice source of revenue for search engines. Maybe I should try that racket: create a search engine, named like free-movie-search.com, and scan sites with a dodgy reputation to fill it. Content owners then pay me to remove the links. Nah, being that slimy would make me feel like a politician.

    2. Re:gooey goo goo goo by flargleblarg · · Score: 1

      Bing it and find out.

      Please don't say that.

    3. Re:gooey goo goo goo by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Nah, being that slimy would make me feel like a politician.

      Hey, when in Rome...

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  3. 908,237,861 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A new Whack-A-Mole high score!

  4. Allegedly Infringed Upon! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  5. Something needs to be done by hackwrench · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would say that intellectual property needs to be eliminated completely. This should be a sign that something is wrong though, shouldn't it? We as a world need to have talks about this, though most people's talk on issues don't seem to amount to much. We need a serious revamp on the way the world works.

    1. Re:Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you work on a project for years. I take your IP, make profit you get nothing. How does that sound to you?

    2. Re:Something needs to be done by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      I don't know how it sounds to him but it sounds to me like you missed the premise of his statement entirely.

    3. Re:Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > This should be a sign that something is wrong though, shouldn't it?

      Why, because there's so many things in the world?

    4. Re:Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Sounds like you should be working on something that isn't easily copied

    5. Re: Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe you could clarify. I'm a Hollywood studio making a movie for profit. How do I do this without IP?

    6. Re: Something needs to be done by knightghost · · Score: 1

      Provide it to your customers in a way that they'll pay for it. That's already working for Netflix and Pandora. Protecting archaic business models hurts everyone.

    7. Re:Something needs to be done by RandomSurfer314 · · Score: 0

      The vast majority of authors and musicians can barely make a living, they have to job at fast food chains and department stores to afford being able to write novels or making records. For example, it is estimated that only around 300 of book authors in Germany can make a living off their writing. As another example, one of my friend is a highly skilled and trained artist. She has to create her pictures in her spare time at night while grinding away her daytime in front of photoshop in a marketing company making shitty illustrations for some megacorporation in the plastics industry.

      Now predatory companies like Amazon want to scratch every penny from artists and sell their works 99 cents maximum or stream them for fractions of a penny, and as the icing of the cake guys like you want to get everything for free. That makes me personally rather sad, especially since I was hoping to be able to make at least part of my future income from the Science Fiction and Fantasy novels I write in every minute of my spare time (6 so far), after my official contract at university will have run out. From all I've seen by now, working as a cashier at the local supermarket will be more lucractive.

      Write a few novels or make some music or artwork before talking about abandoning copyright. Make the copyright nontransferable and 25 years or even less, that'll do. But eliminating it? Crazy and sad. Sorry for the rant, but you need to think about the people who create things, too. They are already being exploited enough.

    8. Re:Something needs to be done by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Dude wake up to yourself, you are no more being exploited than the non-writer working right next to you and they lack the creating writing ability to ever escape that way, seriously what the hell is that matter with you.

      Low end shitty jobs should pay a living wage, they should be able to pay for a home, clothing, food, health care and some reasonable leisure activity. There should be no stigma that whiny writers attack to being a low end down trodden shit eating common as fuck worker, wait what, perhaps attitudes need to seriously change. They work, they should earn a reasonable living and they should be treated with dignity and respect.

      I'd like the profession of kicking questionable writers up the arse, but they wont even let me make it a hobby ;D. Dude your, hobby, your choice, can't make a living from your hobby, well, try another hobby. My concern is that you should not feel like shit doing a job and earning a living, that you should feel a reasonable measure of dignity and respect in that job, if that is not happening, then there is something seriously wrong with society and I put the blame squarely at the feet of ignorant, arrogant, self involved duplicitous writers.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    9. Re:Something needs to be done by hackwrench · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a good argument for the abolishment of intellectual property.

    10. Re:Something needs to be done by hackwrench · · Score: 1

      People don't "create" things. That is a romantic notion with no basis in reality.

    11. Re: Something needs to be done by scarboni888 · · Score: 1

      Tell you what, don't. If that's what you're worried about just don't bother, k? Thanks.

    12. Re: Something needs to be done by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      How does the Fashion Industry do it without copyright?

      HINT: You don't Imaginary Property to make money.

      Hell, when even a patent attorney are saying society should be Against Intellectual Property then you know there is a problem.

    13. Re:Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like you got fucked over by Hollywood lawyers.

    14. Re:Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like you should be working on something that isn't easily copied

    15. Re:Something needs to be done by RandomSurfer314 · · Score: 1

      No wonder so many people I know stopped playing in bands, because they didn't want to entertain kids like you.

    16. Re:Something needs to be done by Stickybombs · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, I play in a band because I enjoy doing it. It has never been about making money. It is a hobby that I find fun. I have no expectation of becoming rich, or even of making it into a full time job. Very few artists, writers, painters, whatever, should ever get rich from their hobby. Especially with so many creative people out there, there just isn't enough money in the market for everyone. If you enjoy doing something, do it for fun. If you happen to make some money, cool, but it should never be an expectation.

    17. Re:Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man, this is not about getting rich or even getting money at all from your hobby. What I've said applies to professional musicians, authors and artists, too. Look around what's going on in society, look at the actual statistics. A miniscule minority is getting richer and richer while the vast majority gets poorer and poorer. Look at the professions of the people who amass all this insane wealth they don't even need. This trend also affects engineers. There is something seriously wrong with a society in which you have to become a lawyer so he can build something (machines, art, music, books, software) in your spare time, which will then further enrich Amazon.

    18. Re:Something needs to be done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're just another freerider who found away to "justify" his antisocial behavior.

  6. Strisand Effect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    4shared.com .... Strisand Effect

  7. Wait.... I recognize that geometric progression by mark-t · · Score: 1

    If they get 1 billion after 1 year, and within half a year that rate will have risen to 2 billion (since they will get another billion in only 6 months), then at that rate of growth that means that within 4 years they will be getting more than one pirate removal request per year for every single person on the planet.

    1. Re:Wait.... I recognize that geometric progression by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for the Gartner trend extrapolation. That will happen right along with the 1998 projection of 36.5 billion Palm Pilots in use by 2023.

    2. Re:Wait.... I recognize that geometric progression by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure there is at least one Gartner employee with business card reading "Senior Trend Extrapolator".

    3. Re:Wait.... I recognize that geometric progression by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't be naive. This is just getting started. Copyright holders, aka the movie and music industry, will keep on flooding Google with automated take down requests until Google buckles and starts blocking pirate sites altogether.
      They really don't care if they have to submit 10Billion, 100Billion, or more request per year. Doing that is relatively easy. For Google otoh it becomes expensive, because they will have to vet each and every claim, and do it right, or they will have to deal with massive amounts of counterclaims.
      There is only so much you can automate, especially if people are out to frustrate your automation.

      Then, when Google's processes start failing, it will find itself in court facing demands to "properly block" the requested URL's. That is the moment they will cave and just block complete sites.

    4. Re:Wait.... I recognize that geometric progression by knightghost · · Score: 1

      So charge for each claim.

  8. Fake News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://theintercept.com/2016/11/26/washington-post-disgracefully-promotes-a-mccarthyite-blacklist-from-a-new-hidden-and-very-shady-group/

  9. I'm suffering math or comprehension issues. by MyFirstNameIsPaul · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't "most" of 900 million be a number greater than 450 million?

    --

    I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.

    1. Re:I'm suffering math or comprehension issues. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, I think they mean, "The domain with the most take-down requests was..."

  10. Missing the forest for the trees by H3lldr0p · · Score: 5, Informative

    The blurb quoted above missing the important part at the end of the article.

    The Copyright Office launched a public consultation in order to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the current DMCA provisions. This review is still ongoing and was extended earlier this month.

    I feel like I keep up to date with things but this caught me by surprise. Not only haven't I heard about this, but this is a pretty damn big deal. Safe harbor and other provisions, such as the notice and takedown, all rely on this law. As flawed as it is, it has helped protect the Internet as we know it. Without those provisions, we'd never see the rise of YT or music services.

    As distracting as this past election has been, this shouldn't be allowed to be slipped by us. Get on this with your letters and calls.

    1. Re:Missing the forest for the trees by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Something protected by DMCA will never enter the public domain, unless the protection is cracked, and therefore should not receive copyright protection. Something with no public benefit should not be supported with taxes. Copyright should only be for a limited time, and ultimately be of benefit to the public. In fact the public paying the taxes that provide for copyright now, should be able to receive a benefit. That is, there should be a reasonable chance for the work to enter the public domain in their lifetime. 40 years would be about right - the average length of a working life.

    2. Re:Missing the forest for the trees by speedplane · · Score: 1

      The Copyright Office launched a public consultation in order to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the current DMCA provisions. This review is still ongoing and was extended earlier this month.

      I feel like I keep up to date with things but this caught me by surprise. Not only haven't I heard about this, but this is a pretty damn big deal. Safe harbor and other provisions, ... has helped protect the Internet as we know it.

      They are also reviewing other less savory aspects of the DMCA, including the anti-circumvention rules. There's a strong possibility that you'll soon be able to modify your phone or PlayStation without being subject to copyright infringement liability.

      --
      Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
  11. like sperm by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    male birth control is highly ineffective.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:like sperm by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      nonsense, there is 100% effective male birth control. Cut those nuts off, problem solved.

    2. Re:like sperm by scarboni888 · · Score: 1

      You don't need to be so gruesome about it. Vasectomies are a neat, effective, and tidy in-out procedure with the desired effects and without the visually obvious maiming. Also, testosterone can still be produced, preventing unnecessary altering of the physical traits of the male involved.

    3. Re:like sperm by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      vasectomies are not 100% effective, 20 of every 10,000 will produce pregnancies. You want 100%, you have to corta los huevos

    4. Re:like sperm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I did that, but then I turned into a girl. Actually, best thing I ever did. Well, I mean, technically speaking, the knife was enchanted with the Ritual of Ishtar.

    5. Re:like sperm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still not 100% effective against your wife getting pregnant.

      Oh, you mean after sex with you...

  12. Big deal. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    A billion pirate links... thats like 4 blogs.

  13. "945,000 different domains" ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anyone have that list?
    (I'm stuck with a mere handful.)

  14. p1r@736@y is still... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    #1 in a google search.

  15. Stubborn by pigsycyberbully · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have never used Google search there are so many other search engines. I have noticed that Firefox automatically places a Google cookie when the browser opens.
    The new Opera browser feeds google information and has a built in Google search, and when you open the browser it automatically connects to Google.

    They say Google is the biggest spying company on the Internet and you cannot escape them. I don't believe that and I enjoy trying anyway. If you don't make it easy for them It costs them more money. If you do make it easy they take you for a cunt. I am stubborn.. And just like the word stubborn nobody knows my origin.

    1. Re:Stubborn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have noticed that Firefox automatically places a Google cookie when the browser opens.

      Go to about:config and search for "google" to disable whatever's doing that. You might have the safe browsing feature turned on, it periodically fetches a list of known hacked/malware/phishing sites from a Google server so it can pop up a warning if you end up on one of those sites.

  16. Phoney take down notices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google Asked to Remove a Billion 'Pirate' Search Results in a Year

    And how many of them were ACTUALLY infringing?

    1. Re:Phoney take down notices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know, but despite all the removed results I have always been able to find what I was looking for.

  17. Microsoft will pay you a little bit to use Bing by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    Sort of, they give you points which can be redeemed for gift cards to the Microsoft store, Amazon, Hulu, among others.

  18. Strawman argument by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your argument is bullshitmbecause Netflix and Pandora only work under the current IP regime, and work poorly because they compete with the cartels. Come up with a relevant argument and try again.

    1. Re:Strawman argument by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Fine, then do your work on commission. Leave out the exciting finish until you get your price. Write the next chapter for your book after you are adequately paid for the previous. There are many ways to get paid for performing work. A mechanical reproduction is not a performance.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:Strawman argument by speedplane · · Score: 1

      Fine, then do your work on commission. Leave out the exciting finish until you get your price. Write the next chapter for your book after you are adequately paid for the previous. There are many ways to get paid for performing work. A mechanical reproduction is not a performance.

      It's my work, my creation, I should be able to control what's done with it. Who are you to dictate terms to me? What have you done to bring this work to a reality? What moral authority does the user of the work have over its creator?

      --
      Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
    3. Re:Strawman argument by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No one stops you from doing what you want with it. Just keep it to yourself.
      If I have paid money for it I do as I please with it. Including making a gazillion copies and handing to friends.
      If you can't accept that, don't release it.

    4. Re:Strawman argument by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's my work, my creation, I should be able to control what's done with it.

      Then don't sell it.

      My plumber doesn't get to control how often or how big a dump I take, and neither does he get to demand money every time I do so or every time I have a guest over who hasn't paid to use his work.

    5. Re:Strawman argument by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      I should be able to control what's done with it.

      No you shouldn't. The other replies already explained it quite simply. Unless you block the light from your lamp, I can read from it. Unless you block the smoke from your pipe, I can enjoy the aroma, or the high. And the things I purchase are mine, not yours to control in any way. You can get paid for performing the work, not for my enjoyment.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    6. Re:Strawman argument by speedplane · · Score: 1

      Unless you block the light from your lamp, I can read from it. Unless you block the smoke from your pipe, I can enjoy the aroma, or the high. And the things I purchase are mine, not yours to control in any way. You can get paid for performing the work, not for my enjoyment.

      A work of art is so much more than a light from a lamp or an aroma from a pipe, the comparison is so demeaning.

      --
      Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
    7. Re:Strawman argument by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      the comparison is so demeaning.

      Copyright is more so. Nobody has any right to control what I possess.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”