Google and Microsoft agree crackdown on piracy sites in search results

lx07 · 20 Feb 2017

markweatherill said:

I guess 'search result removed as a result of a DMCA complaint...' is too labour intensive.

I therefore look forward to a Google and Bing (LOL) free of all mention of pirates and torrents, and other such keywords.

I'm honestly not sure if you are trying to be funny or not.

lx07 · 20 Feb 2017

pigpenz said:

curious.....couldn't one just log on with tor browser and look for things in other search engines, seems to me it will always be out there whether Microsoft or google try to hide it.

Yes and no. Sure you can work around things but most people use Google. They don't install TOR.

TOR will certainly let you pick another exit node (so you can pretend to be from some other country) . You will then (generally) be filtered based on your exit point IP not your own physical location.

What other search engine though? You can use DuckDuckGo (the default on the TOR bundle) or any of these other ones which just plug into Google on the back anyway. That is the problem - they all do.

You can bypass specific location based filtering using TOR but if Google is filtering results (or MS come to that) there isn't much you can do. It is their own proprietary system. You'll just get the same (filtered) results whatever front end you put on it. Just filtered differently depending where you appear to be from.

It is a problem I think. Search engine results are fairly important to most people and their governance should be a matter of concern. You shouldn't have to worry what is being hidden.

It is a shame and a bad precedent. If something is hidden I'd certainly rather it was indicated as such rather than shuffled away out of sight.

alphanumeric · 20 Feb 2017

Keep in mind this is likely being done for joe public average computer user. Not those of us that actually know a good link from a bad one. You know them, the ones that just blindly click the first link in the top of the search results. And then call you to bail them out.

The people looking for their free movie etc, are going to find it anyway.

lx07 · 20 Feb 2017

alphanumeric said:

The people looking for their free movie etc, are going to find it anyway.

According to the second link in the OP that is 15% of people.

I read through the article a couple of times to make sure. It wasn't particularly clear to me (that is not mentioned at all) what country they were talking about though. Or what decade. Or even if they just made up the numbers or found a picture on the internet.

Having too much time on my hands I thought I'd check it. It turns out this picture

Google and Microsoft agree crackdown on piracy sites in search results-capture.png

was also found here Internet piracy falls to record lows amid rise of Spotify and Netflix arguing completely the opposite point.

It came from an article entitled "Illegal File-sharing Pilot Survey Report " by a Philippines' research agency Kantar Media published in May 2010.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/asse...886/kantar.pdf

They telephoned 2000 people in the UK and asked them what they were stealing during the year 2009. Of those who answered ("almost" 300 UK children between 12 and 16 apparently) they came up with this.

Clearly the impact of Netflix (which launched streaming in the UK in 2012) and Spotify (February 2009) might have had fairly limited impact on whoever they phoned up in March 2009 it is never less a good bar chart. Especially the big column on the right hand side. I can't wait to see when it is brought out again.