British Recording Industry Thinks 'Right To Be Forgotten' Proves Google Can Stop Piracy
from the a-tale-of-two-web-forms dept
As the discussion over the EU's decision to force Google to uphold a "right to be forgotten" continues, various industry heads have begun to weigh in on the subject, pointing to this as evidence that Google could do more to combat piracy.
This, of course, is exactly the expected reaction. With every obliging move, search engines such as Google move themselves further and further away from providing "agnostic" search results. But what these entities are seeking goes much further than web forms. They still think Google should be able to de-list entire sites at the behest of any number of self-interested parties.
A recent article at the Guardian contains a number of recording industry leaders pointing in the direction of Google's "right to forget" compliance as an admission by the search engine giant that it has the power to (almost singlehandedly) kill off "pirate" sites. There's some confusion as to what Google actually does expressed here, although the worst of it seems to be relegated to the headline itself: "If Google can get rid of personal data, why can't it purge the pirates?"
The lede handles the subject much more accurately before the head of Britain's recording industry attempts to turn this into another reason why Google isn't doing enough to protect his interests.
Google's decision to allow users to easily de-list certain personal information from search results has infuriated a film and music industry that argues the internet giant should act as decisively to help squash digital piracy.After laying down the facts, the rest is filled with badly drawn conclusions.
Critics say that Google drags its feet over carrying out measures such as stripping pirate websites from its search results, yet the move to allow users the "right to be forgotten" proves it can take serious action if it is forced.There are several things wrong with Taylor's assertions. To begin with, Google "sends" no one any business. Google returns search results. Critics often claim that search results for content return tons of illicit results within the first few pages, but in order to make this happen, you have to include the sort of terms that someone looking to pirate might use. With enough intent, you can wring anything out of a search engine. This is not a problem that needs to be "solved" by the search engine.
"It's 'Don't be Evil' 101," says Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the music industry's trade body, the BPI. "The principle at stake here is when you know someone is acting illegally, you shouldn't continue helping them by sending them business."
The industry's own preferred referral services are, if anything, worse than the industry's skewed perception of Google's search results. As we pointed out a few weeks ago, the combined force of the UK's movie and television industry has resulted in a website that can't even locate legitimate purchase options for highly sought after content, while a simple search at Amazon will provide plenty of DVD and streaming options.
While critics may be right that Google can do certain things if "forced" to by government bodies, is this really the sort of goal they should be encouraged to pursue? Using the government to force one industry to cater to another industry's whims? The recording and motion picture industries seem to feel they should be able to de-list entire sites, something Google isn't allowing with its "right to forget" web form, just as it isn't allowing it with its DMCA takedown request form. Taylor feels this is wrong and that his industry should be allowed to de-list entire sites, including content that doesn't belong to anyone under its purview, simply by pushing a couple of buttons.
Geoff Taylor has more to add to this:
Dealing with Google is often a fraught process, Taylor adds, and the illegal websites reappear in the same, or a slightly different, guise almost immediately after they are taken down.Presumably, Taylor means URL addresses. Once again, Google doesn't have the power (nor should it) to "take down" websites. Again, the URL is de-listed and won't appear in search results. In order for the content to be removed, a takedown request must be submitted to the site hosting the content. People like Taylor want to lay the problem at Google's feet simply because Google has given them one of the easiest and most user-friendly ways to submit takedown requests. Rather than make an effort, the industry wants Google -- a search engine -- to do the legwork for it. And now it wants entire sites de-listed.
"We have been calling for a long time for Google in particular to be more proactive in dealing with the issue of illegal content in its search results," says Taylor.Google is not in the business of policing the internet for infringing content. That job belongs to the rights holders. How Taylor arrives at this misconception is beyond me, but he's far from the only industry head calling for Google to save them from problems they ignored for far too long.
How Taylor decides a new web form ("right to forget") signals greater capabilities than a pre-existing web form (the DMCA takedown) is also beyond me. Taylor is correct in his statement that Google's search algorithm is far from neutral, but he fails to acknowledge that it's been governments acting at the behest of industries that have made the most noise about the company's failure to rewrite the code to the specifications of the RIAA, MPAA et al.
And for all that noise, there's seemingly very little realization that pirates don't really use search engines for piracy.
Just 13% of illegal downloaders use search engines, including Google, to access music sites, and 8% for film sites, according to snapshot research by Ofcom.So, even if the industry gets its way, there will be little noticeable effect.
But the bottom line is this: the new "right to be forgotten" form is roughly interchangeable with the DMCA takedown form. Neither remove content. Both only de-list URLs. The content still exists, but anyone using Google won't be able to find it... and that number represents only a small sliver of web users.
Somehow, these similar forms with similar results signal something much bigger to industry leaders like Geoff Taylor when, in fact, it should signal the exact opposite. Nothing has changed. Google will de-list specific URLs if given a legal reason to, whether it's a EU directive or its own compliance with the DMCA in order to retain its safe harbors. The belief that this means Google can (and should) de-list entire sites and further screw around with its algorithm in order to make the recording (and motion picture) industry happy is simply delusional.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: geoff taylor, piracy, right to be forgotten, search engines
Companies: bpi, google
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
What Google can do
They are wrong.
What Google can do (has done) is to pretend to follow a legal indtruction to a sufficient level to convince those who ordered them to do it (for now).
Of course if a few months they will discover that what Google has done is in practice less effective than it appeared at first (to a naive observer).
And of course if Google really succeeded ( a big if) then there are options such as Yacy (which no-one can issue orders to for technical reasons) waiting in the wings to take over.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
down the rabbit hole
However, how about a site like chillingeffects collating the right to be forgotten requests? Could google remove the link to the original material, but include a link to something commenting on the request - and thus reveal the old content?
Of course I guess someone could request that removal. Which would result in a link to another request on chillingeffects ... ad infinitum
Here's hoping server hard drives keep increasing exponentially ...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Can you have justice without due process?
If it had an informercial, the motto for getting rid of content you don't like in the age of the Internet would be "Set it, and forget It!".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Don't be evil
No it isn't - - surely "Don't be Evil 101" would be the Sermon on the Mount which clearly enjoins us to be neutral in these circumstances
"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
Matthew 5 -45
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Google should comply..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: down the rabbit hole
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Comment 2: Maybe google just needs to serve up a taste of these trolls old medicine in the form of new terms of use, "By using our site, you agree to waive your right to be forgotten..." I know it wouldn't hold any water in court, but still it'd be funny.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Get in line, BPI.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Google should comply..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
What does "right to be forgotten" allow people to do with personal information that the DMCA doesn't allow copyright holders to do with infringing copies?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
To
There is a strong suspicion amongst many, although it is not particularly supprtedin reliable studies, that piracy increases sales (reliable studies do suggest a very minor positive effect and fall to support a negative effect on sales).
Perhaps the industry shares this suspicion, but cannot bring themselves to publicly acknowledge this and so continue with piracy fighting policies so long as the impact on piracy is negligible.
Then at they can be the brave soldiers fighting the desperate battle against piracy , whilst still enjoying the benefits.
It's generally called having your cake and eating it too, and that is something the entertainment industry corporations have phenomenal experience of.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
could we..?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Don't be evil
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Fight them with your wallet ! The more who do so the merrier !
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Now the claim seems to be the opposite.
Then again I'm not surprised two wishful-thinking forces have allied like this.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: could we..?
Both of which defeat their respective purposes.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Google should comply..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
OH, wait, no, sorry. I thought you said Denied.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The reason why this approach is not taken is because there is a great deal of cowardliness with respect to not admitting that this is a lost cause. They can't attack the sources because there are too many sources, also known as "I am Spartacus!", also known as a comparison to prohibition and the war on drugs. So instead of admitting their failures, they scapegoat the search engines that do nothing more than mention what the pirate websites actually are, in a hope that all piracy woes will miraculously vanish. Such logic would also mean preventing the BBC from mentioning anything about the Pirate Bay whatsoever. Or listing the websites that have been blocked through court orders. This is another form of the "super-injunction", which is something that quite rightly deserves hostility and ridicule in itself. You only need to look to Ryan Giggs to see how this idea is discredited.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
There is a great difference between copyright infringement and the desire for an individual not appear in a search result.
Google seems to be going through great effort to follow the new rules? The rules say ANY search engine. How are the other search engines doing? Does this make the cost of being a new search engine startup so high there is no longer any business value?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Has anyone..
Making a person Disappear, does not mean they are GONE..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
All this is a waste of time though. Know why? The music out there isn't worth the bandwidth it takes to download. Maybe 2 movies out of an entire year are worth your time to watch. The rest are absolute money and time wasters. So what it comes down to is a total lack of interest in these products. Don't care enough to spend the time to download them.
Here's a clue.... Goggle ain't gonna fix that.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
The whole point is that they do have that power, right now. What they want is beyond what the "right to be forgotten" gives. They want Google to actively seek out and suppress things rather than only doing it on request.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
huge difference. And here, have my "report" that your drivel disappears
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The British Recording Industry is correct about this
(* please note: removing something from google's index does not make it disappear from teh intarwebs! Other terms and conditions may apply retroactively. Void where prohibited or not prohibited by law.)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Can you have justice without due process?
Isn't due process without justice good enough?
The recording industry says it is an adequate substitute. Really, it is. Plus, you cannot then complain about not getting due process.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Google should comply..
Google should also help people to be forgotten. Good for privacy. But think of the disk space that could be saved and used for worthwhile purposes. Like remembering the accomplishments of people who have made a positive contribution to society.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Can you have justice without due process?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Also, pirate web sites, in general, make virtually no money, so there's hardly any money in it. It's been well documented that removing piracy does little affect sales so it's not a matter of money. It's a matter of control, and the money that can be made by creating an imaginary problem (piracy!) so they can offer an imaginary service (copyright "protection"). Convince enough people you're doing the "right thing" and they'll pay you for it, whether or not it's effective or necessary.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
hey if Google can make people and things disappear, why don't they start with the *AA's and their ilk?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
This isn't going to end well for him...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Calling this censorship makes you look foolish, by the way.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Mike Masnick censors speech on this site.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Google should comply..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Really? How exactly do you think this is going to end? Clowns like you have been claiming this for years but I see no end in sight.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: down the rabbit hole
Some local police departments post mug shots on Facebook of those they've arrested. Does Facebook have to come down to?
Oh wait! That's not a bad idea!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Most people with a modicum of intelligence would realise that they're spamming and stop, but evidently that's beyond your meagre levels of comprehension.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
But, if it happens to you every time you post, there's a reason for that - and no, it's not because Mike is as obsessed with you as you are with him. Maybe if you stopped posting lies and idiocy to such a degree that the spam filter temporarily (and correctly) flags your IP as belonging to a spamming moron, you wouldn't have this problem.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Masnick is about to find out why creative people trump weasels like himself, every time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
There's a weasel here and it's not Masnick.
[ link to this | view in thread ]