Posted in: Online Services

Google to downrank websites that receive copyright removal notices

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The days of easily finding pirated content on the Internet are slowly be coming to an end. With the recent SOPA/PIPA and Megaupload fiasco, it’s clear that the powers that be are starting to crack down on the pirated content on the Internet by trying to shut down websites that provide them.

The latest move comes from Google, who have announced that they will now start downranking websites that receive valid copyright removal notices. The more notices a website receives, the lower the rank will be of these sites.

Note that Google will not be removing these sites entirely from their results; just downranking them, so with some effort you may still be able to access them. Or you can just use any of the other search engines out there.

Google feels that this move will direct people towards purchasing genuine content when they search for something, like a movie or TV show, instead of providing them easy access to pirated content. And one can’t help but agree with them as currently it’s a lot easier to find pirated content online than genuine one.

While this move is not going to stop pirated content, it’s definitely going to make it harder for people to find it. At least for those who use Google for such things.

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