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Google and Microsoft To Crackdown On Piracy Sites In Search Results (telegraph.co.uk)

Google and Microsoft pledged on Monday to crack down on sites hosting pirated content that show up on their search engines. In what is being called a first of its kind agreement, Google and Microsoft's Bing will demote U.K. search results of copyright infringing websites. From a report on The Telegraph: The search engine operators have signed up to a clampdown that will see the UK's copyright watchdog monitor the search results they provide for unlawful websites. The agreement follows years of campaigning by record labels and film studios, which have accused Google and Microsoft of turning a blind eye to piracy and dragging their feet over measures to protect copyright online. Under a new voluntary code, the tech giants have committed to demote websites that have repeatedly been served with copyright infringement notices, so that they do not appear on the first page for common searches.

104 comments

  1. DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This should pump up traffic to DuckDuckGo.

    1. Re:DuckDuckGo by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Does anyone really bother using Google for piracy anyway? There are plenty of dedicated search engines for BitTorrent and file lockers that provide better results.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:DuckDuckGo by ls671 · · Score: 1

      Brilliant! You know duckduckgo just relays results from other search engines, do you?

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    3. Re:DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha! As if anyone uses general-purpose search engines for media, rather than going straight to their favorite torrent or nzb index.

      Don't get me wrong; Google search is generally fucking awesome. But any time people have such a specific job, using a specialized tool is way better.

    4. Re: DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      true to that. even legal things have dedicated search engines that you can add to your browsers search engine list and switch to what ever to be more specific even site specific search.

    5. Re:DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Neither of which are Big G or MacroSuck so it's a step in the right direction for now at least. I echo the need for a true replacement of Google, something distributed and non-controllable.

    6. Re:DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Don't get me wrong; Google search is generally fucking awesome..

      Google search hasn't been very good for a few years now.

    7. Re:DuckDuckGo by ls671 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Are you sure?

      DuckDuckGo emphasizes getting information from the best sources rather than the most sources, generating its search results from key crowdsourced sites such as Wikipedia and from partnerships with other search engines like Yandex, Yahoo!, Bing, and Yummly.[5][6]

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    8. Re:DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [citation needed]

    9. Re: DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You too? It's slowly become less reliable for much of anything, I assume from too much monkeying around with the results and shitty guessing. They quit listening.

    10. Re:DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some torrent clients have built-in search engines, like qBittorrent.

    11. Re:DuckDuckGo by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      Ha! As if anyone uses general-purpose search engines for media, rather than going straight to their favorite torrent or nzb index.

      But they keep closing down and re-opening under a different names and IP addresses.

    12. Re:DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But they keep closing down and re-opening under a different names and IP addresses.

      "thepiratebay.org" has managed to stay pretty consistent with their domain.

    13. Re:DuckDuckGo by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      Huh.. doesn't yahoo just get their results from Bing though?

      I wonder how many unique search engines there really are now....

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    14. Re:DuckDuckGo by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      the idea is to demote links to such search engines.

      the companies who provide this service to the media companies are lazy as fuck, so what they care is just sending a few per week to the same sites that are on the first page of results. they bill by the amounts served and bill high and just do it enough.

      case in point how it works on youtube - you can find common movies and tv shows from major networks if you just bother to type in the names. the folks SELLING this service to the media companies DO NOT EVEN BOTHER with that 99% of the time, instead they just trust youtubes content id.

      seriously, if I can find top gear on youtube, why can't the folks selling the content protection to bbc cant? because they are lazy fucks.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    15. Re:DuckDuckGo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sometimes that one goes down so you have to google a mirror.

    16. Re:DuckDuckGo by hughbar · · Score: 1

      Why is this currently marked as 'troll'? I've been involved with search since the 1980s and old enough to see the web evolve into Facebook, Google and Amazon and I agree that Google is now sometimes near-rubbish. The top Google 'results' are usually stuff to buy, often from Amazon. DuckDuckGo is better and the ethics are better, but we could do with a few more too.

      I give an introductory talk on building them at Raspberry Pi meetings, from time to time, it's here: https://www.slideshare.net/hug... so kids, get off my lawn (I'm 66) go and build some more.

      --
      On y va, qui mal y pense!
    17. Re:DuckDuckGo by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      Heh, sometimes you can (briefly) find things that are quite hard to find elsewhere.

      A couple of years ago I really wanted to rewatch the short-lived Flash series from the 1990s. It was a single season series but I had loved it as a kid - and it had been cancelled for being too expensive to make, not for lack of quality (it was actually quite good and it's normal criminals mostly approach was an early precursor to the hit superhero shows we have now).
      Only trouble is - I couldn't find it. No torrents anywhere. I couldn't even find legal DVD copies (since it aired before DVD existed).

      Eventually I randomly searched youtube - and got to watch the entire series there. It seems to have been removed at some point since then though.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    18. Re:DuckDuckGo by ls671 · · Score: 1

      I wonder how many unique search engines there really is now....

      something looked strange...

      Cheers,

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  2. Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is fantastic news! Does anyone know where I can find the current Google/Microsoft price sheet for result filtering?

    I don't like it when people talk about religion or green cars (hate, hate HATE the colour green). How much would it cost to have Google protect people from search results relating to religion or green cars?

    1. Re:Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by arth1 · · Score: 1

      The problem I have here isn't if they block something that's bad, but who gets to decide whether something is.

    2. Re:Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by tepples · · Score: 2

      The U.S. Congress decided way back in 1790 that copyright infringement is "something that's bad".

    3. Re:Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes but when > 50% of the population disagree and routinely break it, it's a law that is clearly not something bad... law !== moral.

    4. Re: Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sharing a book or a movie with your friend does not violate copyright

    5. Re: Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The police will be there soon to take you to federal prison.

    6. Re:Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by arth1 · · Score: 2

      The U.S. Congress decided way back in 1790 that copyright infringement is "something that's bad".

      Yes, but who gets decide whether something really is a copyright infringement or not? Someone with an economical interest?
      That's the problem I see here.

    7. Re:Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The human race decided way back in Year Zero that evil actions are "something that's bad".

      So if I say it's doubleplus notgood, it must be blocked immediately, and the effort funded with your money until completion.

      But not if my opponent says it. Because he's also notgood. Take him away.

    8. Re:Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by tepples · · Score: 1

      The following assumes the jurisdiction of the home country of Google, Microsoft, and Slashdot:

      who gets decide whether something really is a copyright infringement or not?

      The U.S. Constitution grants the power to define copyright infringement to Congress within the limits of the First Amendment. Congress has created statutory limits on copyright, some specific and others largely left up to the judicial branch.

      Someone with an economical interest?

      Is the issue a conflict of interest arising from congressional election campaign finance and in-kind donations of positive publicity?

    9. Re:Anyone have a link to the price sheet? by arth1 · · Score: 1

      The U.S. Constitution grants the power to define copyright infringement to Congress within the limits of the First Amendment. Congress has created statutory limits on copyright, some specific and others largely left up to the judicial branch.

      But congress isn't going to decide on whether any web site is in violation or not.

  3. first they came for the copyright pirates... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    blah, blah, blah.

  4. Working alternative wanted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Maybe some people should learn a thing or two from the music industry and offer a fully working better alternative

    Netflix makes it so easy to watch television but still these people break it.
    Behind my geo-wall I only get about 36% of the USA catalog (~1100 vs ~400) but my 'rent' is similar.

  5. First page of Google less and less relevant... by gweihir · · Score: 2

    Maybe I will in the future directly go to the second and not even check the first page at all...

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    1. Re:First page of Google less and less relevant... by lucasnate1 · · Score: 1

      Why not switch to duckduckgo?

    2. Re:First page of Google less and less relevant... by Kergan · · Score: 1

      DDG was ok for generic queries but sucked ass last I tried it for anything technical. Has it improved substantially since the Snowden revelations for day to day programming queries?

    3. Re:First page of Google less and less relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Funnily, after reading your comment I looked on my secondary monitor and I see a bunch of tabs in my browser with programming queries on DDG. I can't say whether DDG improved since I wasn't using it back in the day. But I have been happy with it ever since I switched a few months ago to the point that I never feel the need to hit google or bing.

    4. Re:First page of Google less and less relevant... by lucasnate1 · · Score: 1

      I mostly use it to search for things censored by google and friends, and for that it does a better job than them.

    5. Re:First page of Google less and less relevant... by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Nearly every day I have to put quotes around the words in my searches because Google just plain ignores them (they show up crossed out). If you search too quickly with specific terms they think you're a bot and get a captcha.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    6. Re:First page of Google less and less relevant... by jenningsthecat · · Score: 1

      Maybe I will in the future directly go to the second and not even check the first page at all...

      I turn off all of Google's misguided and inept attempts to be 'helpful', (suggestions, filtering, etc), and set the number of hits to 100 per page. I'd have it higher than that if I could. Scrolling is much easier and has better flow than paginating anyway. So my "first page" results are much more comprehensive than most people's anyway. Looking at Google results 10 hits at a time sucks ass - once you try it set to 100 per page, you'll never go back. Unless you're on a really slow connection...

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    7. Re:First page of Google less and less relevant... by Nunya666 · · Score: 1

      DDG was ok for generic queries but sucked ass last I tried it for anything technical. Has it improved substantially since the Snowden revelations for day to day programming queries?

      To me, the do-not-track benefit of DDG outweighs the occasionally poor search results. So I always search DDG first. If I don't find what I'm looking for in the first page or two of results, then I rerun the search in Google. And that includes both geeky queries and non-geeky queries.

  6. uhhh... by ckatko · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they're removing them "now", what the hell were they doing before? Results are already riddled with DMCA takedown removed results. Google has been publishing the list of these removed URLs for years:

    https://www.google.com/transpa...

    Also, FUN FACT. They're not doing what they say because they never do what they say. If they REALLY went after copyright infringing websites they'd take down:

      - Google+
      - Facebook
      - YouTube
      - Reddit
      - Twitter
      - Imgur

    Those places are FULL of copyrighted information and nobody bats an eye.

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

      They mean removing specific URL's with the download, or that contain immediate links to the download. Not an entire site like www.twitter.com.

      I'm sure that what the record companies and movie studios are asking for as well.

    2. Re:uhhh... by dristoph · · Score: 1

      Infringing the copyrights on works created by mere individuals doesn't matter; copyright only protects massively profitable corporations, you see.

  7. In the UK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So the UK will get its own censored version of Google and Bing, like China. I'm sure they're proud of their new found greatness. Look at us, we can make Google do as we say. Yeah, you told them to shot you in the foot and they obliged. Idiots.

  8. GOOD! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 0

    Nobody should have to suffer the terrible fate of using Microsoft products, not even software pirates or even literal pirates! #OnlyReadTheTitle ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  9. kernel.org gone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does it really cover all copyright infringement sites?

  10. Don't worry by HideyoshiJP · · Score: 4, Funny

    Microsoft shouldn't worry. You wouldn't have been able to find those results with Bing anyway, much less anything you were actually searching for.

    1. Re:Don't worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I was only there to search for directions on how to get away from there.

  11. No more YouTube results in Google searches? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >> demote websites that have repeatedly been served with copyright infringement notices

    So...you're saying that we'll stop seeing YouTube results in Google searches?

    1. Re:No more YouTube results in Google searches? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As far as I can tell, Youtube has a copyright protocol which seems to be "post whatever you want, but if we get a DMCA notice and it seems to be from the correct copyright holder then we're taking it down". Sometimes it seems there's negotiation where the poster agrees to accept a rotating ad at the start of their clip.

    2. Re:No more YouTube results in Google searches? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't even have to "seem" to be the correct copyright holder.

      A couple of years ago, the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) ran the first Premier12 baseball tournament. Being a baseball fan, I was excited to see that they were live streaming and subsequently providing it on demand on YouTube.

      I was several minutes into a replay of the first game when the video stopped playing and displayed a removed message. As a result of screwed up DMCA request from a Korean copyright holder, the WBSC lost the right to live stream on their YouTube channel. It took several days before YouTube had given them back the rights and dismissed the copyright claim. Needless to say, I was particularly miffed.

      Thanks Google! Glad to see you follow your own rules of placing user experience first.

  12. Loada bollox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LOL...do they really honestly believe people are using their searches for piracy?? There's dedicated websites that people just know where to get what.
    It takes 5 years of hammering noobs with "google it", "google it", one stupid question after another expecting an answer rather than finding it their damn selves, the same applies @ piracy. Noobs sit and cry asking others how/where to download stuff but don't have half the brain as to just search themselves.
    This is nothing but a waste of time, load of bollocks

  13. teenage mutant ninja turtles filetype:torrent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    so teenage mutant ninja turtles filetype:torrent will no longer work ??
    oh well toorgle still works i hope

  14. I use Ixquick. by jimbob6 · · Score: 1

    I use ixquick because it doesn't track you but it still has the same problem as all the other alternative search engines.
    In the end they just go back to Google for the query. Remember the days when internet search engines were a dime a dozen and they all had different algorithms.
    That was nice.

    1. Re:I use Ixquick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can use their Start Page Search if you want Google results.

      For those that don't know: ixquick.eu if you DON'T want Google results.
      ixquick.com or startpage.com if you DO want Google results.

      Of course none of the above will track you.

  15. ZERO shits given. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Since TM made it legal to snoop on my day and night I have been using an encrypted proxy.

    I usually proxy within the UK for speed ad BBC iPlayer. But I have proxied elsewhere - speeds wernt that bad.

    I'll just do that again if they take down Proxy Bunker UK.

  16. Unfunded mandate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Im thinking that the record labels and film studios should be financing these anti-piracy measures with some of their profits, not the everyman.

  17. Crackdown - WRONG by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Grammar Nazi here. When used in this context, "crackdown" is actually separated into two words, that is, "crack down".

    If they're launching an initiative or describing a method or process , then it would be "Blah blah blah will institute a crackdown on piracy..."

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re:Crackdown - WRONG by Lost+Race · · Score: 1

      And to head off the "any noun can be verbed!" and "language evolves, get over it!" guys ...

      If you're comfortable with "crackdowned" and "crackdowning" then by all means, feel free to use "crackdown" as a verb. But if you find yourself saying "cracked down" or "cracking down" then you must admit that the verb is two separate words: "crack down."

      See also: shutdown, backup, standby, etc.

  18. Sites with working takedown aren't "infringing" by tepples · · Score: 2

    If they REALLY went after copyright infringing websites they'd take down [the major social media sites]

    Websites that have a takedown policy and enforce it are not "copyright infringing websites" per the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of 1998, codified as 17 USC 512.

    1. Re:Sites with working takedown aren't "infringing" by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      ...codified as 17 USC 512

      I forget. What does USC stand for and why would the UK care about it?

    2. Re:Sites with working takedown aren't "infringing" by tepples · · Score: 1

      USC is United States Code, the primary set of statutes of the home country of both Google and Microsoft.

      As for operation within Britain, what British law gives search engines the right to cache copyrighted web pages and display snippets of copyrighted web pages in the first place?

    3. Re:Sites with working takedown aren't "infringing" by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

      Snooper charter?

  19. Bing can find piracy sites? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bing can't find Mocrosoft's own web pages, how the heck has it ever found piracy sites?

  20. Insincere Dave Says... by minus9 · · Score: 1

    That should put an end to copyright infringement once and for all!

    Well done to all involved!!

  21. Good news everyone! Piracy is dead... by gosand · · Score: 2

    "If it is not on Bing or Google, then we have effectively eliminated piracy. Great job everyone."

    Bonuses will be rewarded, a few more jobs at MS/Google to monitor piracy claims. Lawyers will creep away and chase something else.
    But most of all - piracy will be dead!

    OK, maybe not.
    It could curtail the casual infringer. It will not deter true pirates, or those who may operate in the gray areas.

    What is a gray area? I think there are many.
    I once pre-ordered a CD from a band I really liked who had a new album coming out, two months ahead of the release. Release day came, and went. It was in stores, but I didn't have mine yet. After a week, I downloaded it. Another week passed, and my CD showed up.

    I have purchased a DVD for my kids (many, actually) where I could not rip it to put on my media server. I was able to download it in less time that it would have taken to rip it.

    I have a Roku, and I also have Charter cable. For a lot of the Roku channels I just have to log in with my Charter account to get access. Pretty painless process. However, for some of the channels (like Comedy Central) this doesn't work because they list multiple Charter providers, none of which are mine. So I am out of luck for those channels. It's not that big of a deal to me, so I don't download those shows. But I could see how that could piss some people off and why they might seek out to download them.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  22. who the hell uses a search engine for piracy is an by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    who the hell uses a search engine for piracy is an idiot

    HEY FBI CIA im looking to break the law ..weeee i'm full on retard....

    WHAT this really is ....THEY are going to remove the results publically that they were collecting on YOU FULL RETARDS

  23. and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and farts are not agaisnt trump so everytime you fart you are supporting trump....

    nothing like dumbass logic eh?

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

      HAHA! He got you!

  24. Re:who the hell uses a search engine for piracy is by infolation · · Score: 1

    In the UK we're not too worried about the FBI and CIA, but the recent Investigatory Powers Bill does mean all our communications are under surveillance by GCHQ and the Police.

    But if they're also censoring search results, well that's just jangles. We'll switch our VPNs to search google from a different country.

  25. then the came for slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and the cheers were wild!!!

  26. Who uses Google for piracy? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    I personally get my piracy information from CNN, BBC, Torrentfreak, and all the other media outlets who provide an itemised list of what the MAFIAA are targeting.

  27. Whack-a-Mole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go right ahead, Google, Miscreant-o-soft, MPAA, RIAA, and whoever else; continue to play your endless game of Whack-a-Mole if it amuses you to do so. In the end, you can't stop the signal.

  28. Here's a novel idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't consume Hollywood's excrement regardless of whether you pay for it or not. Find ways to pay for any independent artists whose entertainment you wish to consume. Even if you still use "pirate" sites to actually obtain some content from the independents, you can still find ways to support them monetarily and sleep well at night.

    But supporting Hollywood and it's trail of destruction is not advisable even if you're getting the content completely free of charge. This change to Google/Bing should affect exactly zero people who have a few brain cells to rub together.

    If Hollywood was smart, they'd support anyone consuming their cultural cyanide at any cost to them.

  29. dont use google or bing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they are CIA assets use to own you, you stupid fucking human beings

  30. Re:who the hell uses a search engine for piracy is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No we're not worried, we know GCHQ would sell our grandmonthers to be on the right side of the FBI/CIA and will give open access to any information they have and extradite us before we can blink. The investigatory power bill will mean we won't be able to prove it any more.

  31. Why Would Pirates Want to Use Google or Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps pirates want to purchase hooks and peg legs on e-bay?

    If you meant to say "copyright infringement", please use the correct term. Otherwise you become a sounding board for the MPAA/RIAA by framing the issue in their language.

  32. I did it because MS Store is broken by TanjaTheMoogle · · Score: 1

    I had the money. I was willing to pay. I STILL have the money. And I would still be willing to pay. But it's too late.

    The MS store is broken, but it's even more broken (seemingly) if you are living outside of the US (as a U.S. citizen). I can log in to my MS account on both my computer(s) and my XBox(s). Cool. I want to simply buy a game. The wife won't let me buy an XBoxOne because we have every other system plus a gaming computer. Awesome. Fine. I'll just get the game on the computer, but the only way to get it is through the MS Store and they won't let me have it because of where I happen to be right now.

    So what was I supposed to do? This was a few months ago, but still, what other alternative did I have?

    Wake up! Most honest people don't "pirate" for the fuck of it. People, WILLING people that are willing to pay money will pay money. But companies like MS and Google and ..... blah blah blah create too many extenuating circumstances for the willing.

    Then, the Willing become Pirates....

  33. Re:Good news everyone! Piracy is dead... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It could curtail the casual infringer.

    Since that's pretty much what the labels want, mission accomplished.

  34. While we are distracted discussing piracy.. by WolfgangVL · · Score: 2

    Media companies are colluding with the biggest search internet search engines to manipulate the data they return... the things they don't like go down (things that do not cost you and I money) and things they do like go up (things that used to cost you no money).

    Consider the vast troves of data these profit driven companies have amassed against us, and it becomes quite clear what is happening. They already know what you are going to be looking for on the net based on your past searches, cataloged interests, and other data sources (like your cell phone and bank account logs) With this new *procedure* you will be presented with results of your queries that best represent the interests of those who stand to take your money, or worse, monetize you as a product, and NOT data that best represents your searches.

    To put it another way,

    Today, research is synonymous with google. According to this, other entities are now going to manipulate your research findings based on their profit motive. Imagine the man in a suit manipulating the books you access at a public library, in an effort to get you to buy a few exclusive chapters. These chapters are freely available one shelf over, but the friendly curator makes sure you never see it.

    This is manipulation, it's censorship, and I bet, in a few years time, it will be accepted and embraced. scary times we live in.

    Publicly accessible information has now become publicly acceptable information.

    --
    You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
    1. Re:While we are distracted discussing piracy.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is manipulation, it's censorship, and I bet, in a few years time, it will be accepted and embraced. scary times we live in.

      Publicly accessible information has now become publicly acceptable information.

      Remember a few years ago when that gamedev was caught cheating on her boyfriend with five guys including her boss and a journalist who had promoted her game, and it uncovered a whole nest of favor trading, fake news stories, rigged competitions, and batshit-insane political agendas in all of the big gaming news sites? Google and Microsoft rigged their search engines to hide or exclude the websites talking about it, Twitter and Facebook developed algorithms to suppress the reach of the users who had talked about the scandal, all of the payment processors banned the developers of the webforum software that ran a forum that allowed people to talk about the scandal, and the Democrats ran on the exact same batshit-insane political agendas in 2016. The censorship already is accepted and embraced.

  35. Lumen Database may be part of it by tepples · · Score: 1

    left up to the judicial branch.

    But congress isn't going to decide on whether any web site is in violation or not.

    True; Congress lets the courts sort that out.

    As for whether a site is tied closely enough to infringement to deserve demotion, the featured article doesn't give the complete algorithm, but it does take into account notices of claimed infringement: "the tech giants have committed to demote websites that have repeatedly been served with copyright infringement notices." I assume these are the same notices of claimed infringement that Google forwards to Lumen Database, particularly those pursuant to 17 USC 512.

    1. Re:Lumen Database may be part of it by arth1 · · Score: 1

      As for whether a site is tied closely enough to infringement to deserve demotion, the featured article doesn't give the complete algorithm, but it does take into account notices of claimed infringement: "the tech giants have committed to demote websites that have repeatedly been served with copyright infringement notices." I assume these are the same notices of claimed infringement that Google forwards to Lumen Database, particularly those pursuant to 17 USC 512.

      That's what worries me. The ones who claim infringement are also those with a monetary reason to restrict others, including those who aren't really infringing but just close to it, and bad for their business.

      Until and unless there are serious repercussions for incorrect takedown notices that impacts the one sending the notice as much, relative to their business, as the notice would impact the one hit by it, I see more problems than solutions.
      If I made my livelihood on selling sheet music for my own songs, a handful of incorrect takedown notices that bumped me off Google would be devastating to my business, but would have no impact on RIAA/Stemra/ASCAP/Sony, nor the lawyers who work for them.

  36. Well, that's it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The end is near. With Zuckerberg's over-reaching dream of a Facebook-dominated worldwide community ruled by him (and the other digital media giants, of course), and search engines manipulating results to exclude "illegal" content (now it's piracy and "terrorism", tomorrow politically incorrect and heterodoxical views and opinions), the dream of the internet as a tool for freedom is truly dead forever. All hail the Digital Reich.

    1. Re:Well, that's it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guess who's to blame for the promise of the internet going so south as it has? Yes, it's the nerds and geeks. Not all of course, it's the immoral ones. The "Oh I'm so smart, I'll write code that's malicious and make my $$$!!!" And as for the one's who'll claim, "I was doing what I had to do to make my paycheck.", they could have quit that job. I'm going to go Godwin here, this is the new Nazi'ism. "Oh, I was just doing what I was told I had to do." Immoral greedy geeks and nerds are the bottom line reason that's brought the internet into the sad state where we're at. I can be a normal citizen with a computer, some savvy geek or government worker can place "evidence" on my computer and ruin my life, as I can be prosecuted. All on the whim of someone with the right tools. The state of the internet is a direct reflection of historical tyrants having power over the masses. And it has/had so much promise to unite the world and for humanity to finally get it's shit together and be kind to each other. Hopefully, the dark side will not prevail, but it's going to take many battles before that can happen. We humans are capable of such great love and also such great evil. Dual edged sword it is. Nothing new here, a repeat of history now done with ones and zeros.

  37. Reminds me of history's "noblesse oblige" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See my subject: IF you must ask what that is, look it up or in summation even if powers hated one another if the system they represented which kept both in power was threatened they would for an alliance, even IF temporary only looking aside @ their long term differences, to CRUSH the usually "lone wolf" threatening their power structure BOTH adhered to & gained power from.

    APK

    P.S.=> Google & MS agreeing on something HAS to be "noblesse oblige" in other words... apk

  38. They're lefties, what do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The ONLY media companies telling you the truth today are Brietbart and InfoWars. Believe anything else at your own risk.

  39. Lumen Database by quenda · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Google is so Alta Vista now.

    Lumen Database is now the king of piracy search engines.
    Just enter the movie/song title into the search box and see all the DMCA complaints, which list all the URLs for that movie.
    Let the MPAA and RIAA do all the hard indexing work for you. Thanks guys!

    example: here are 300 ways to get The Force Awakens. Good job team.

    1. Re:Lumen Database by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't as easy as you think it is. They could have included the tag so we could just click to it. It would have been even better than google.

  40. Everyone will change search by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Engines. No sweat off my ass. Altavista google all the same to me. Results is what matters no matter what I search for.

  41. Crackdown is a noun by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know programmers and UI designers need help with this type of English because they often get it wrong, even in Microsoft Windows which you'd think would be well-vetted due to its scale (it's not).

    Log in = verb. Login = noun.
    Shut down = verb. Shutdown = noun.
    Pick up = verb. Pickup = noun.
    Back up = verb. Backup = noun.
    Crack down = verb. Crackdown = noun.

  42. Where is Google's "high moral ground" now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everybody chanted when they refused to do this in China. Apparently "anti-piracy" is the good censorship, let's forget that UK's "anti-piracy" and "anti-porn" filters block a lot more.

  43. Re: Sites with working takedown aren't "infringing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Laws don't work like that, mostly. Laws don't grant you rights, they limit them. More so in areas with no defined constitution...

  44. And in other news... by hyades1 · · Score: 1

    These guys are about to get extremely popular.

    https://millionshort.com/

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  45. Re:who the hell uses a search engine for piracy is by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

    The only result this will provide is a new generation of search engines that don't have this kind of filters.

    But they would be more covert and hide their presence and traffic. Most likely in a peer to peer fashion.

    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  46. Re:who the hell uses a search engine for piracy is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yeah.. everybody normal uses a search engine to look for torrents, and it's usually whatever they use for everything else. and no, we're not worried about the fbi or the cia. and yes - we do agree you are a full on retard.

  47. Re:Good news everyone! Piracy is dead... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have purchased a DVD for my kids (many, actually) where I could not rip it to put on my media server. I was able to download it in less time that it would have taken to rip it.

    One of the many, many ways that current copyright law is screwed up is that the companies often offer an inferior product, namely in the form of ads you are compelled to watch every time you put the DVD into the machine, and the companies want removing or bypassing that to be illegal. Never mind that you do have ethical rights to it, and probably legal rights as well.

  48. COMPOUND WORDS MISUSE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A compound word (i.e. CRACKDOWN) is NOT a verb. Use "crack down" instead. TWO WORDS, you fool.

    WHEN ARE YOU GODDAMNED ILLITERATES GOING TO LEARN THE GODDAMNED LANGUAGE?

    1. Re: COMPOUND WORDS MISUSE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your a moron.

  49. Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm in the US, not in the UK, but I have to ask: Don't these copyright holder mafioso understand that they've already lost the war? I've never in my life downloaded anything directly from a pirate website. However, as far back as 2002, I learned about LimeWire and then FrostWire from hearing it talked about in the mainstream media. I also learned about the now dead allofmp3 Russia-based pay downloading site from hearing about it in the media.

      The copyright Mafia lost my loyalty for life when the MPAA and the RIAA launched their assault on elderly grandmothers and 12-year-old little girls who lived in housing projects. I also lost any respect I might have had left for the copyright holder mafia after they publicly executed allofMP3.com. I couldn't believe it when President Bush specifically mentioned allofMP3's existence being a hindrance to Russia joining either NATO or the WTO. All I could think was "Are you fucking serious?"

        Now that I'm a tax-paying grown-up, I have a monthly Apple Music subscription that meets every need I have as far as listening to music. But if I did ever want to download anything from a pirate website, I would just use FrostWire. I never really understood or even trusted those random pirate websites that pop up on a basic Google search.

    1. Re: Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The copyright mafiosi, as you childishly named them, are winning the war. The last bastion were the big internet companies, who had enough power and money to stand up to the media industry, but they're not in the business to fight for your "rights", they're in to make money. The alliance was unavoidable and it will enable the media industry to take on the 21st century and the internet giants to tap on the enormous source of cash that are the media consumers. Together they will form the mightiest cartel ever seen and will dominate both the real and digital world. It's over. They have conquered. There is nothing we can do. There has never been anything we could do.

  50. Defamation of title by tepples · · Score: 1

    If I made my livelihood on selling sheet music for my own songs, a handful of incorrect takedown notices that bumped me off Google would be devastating to my business

    Likewise for a handful of incorrect notices of claimed infringement sent to your ISP. You can sue the bastards for defamation of title unless the claim is that your own song is substantially similar to one of their own.

  51. Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The big problem I see with this is:

    Under a new voluntary code, the tech giants have committed to demote websites that have repeatedly been served with copyright infringement notices, so that they do not appear on the first page for common searches. Search engine autocomplete functions, a time-saving feature that suggests what users may be looking for, should also remove terms that may lead to pirate websites rather than legitimate services that pay fees to copyright holders.

    As you can see, websites are not going to be demoted for offering pirate content, but will be demoted merely for being accused of offering pirate content. All accusations coming from known greedy media cartels that have already shown many times that they will do ANYTHING (legal or otherwise) for money. I've read enough articles that show a majority of all take down notices are bogus to know that an unsubstantiated accusation is not proof of guilt.

    All this will do is give the media cartels the power to rank websites the way they see fit in order to maximize their profits.