Google expands search results filter with file sharing sites

At the beginning of this year, FutureOfCopyright reported that Google is filtering search terms associated with online piracy, as part of it’s project: "Making Copyright Work Better Online". Now, Google expanded it’s ‘black list’ with names of file sharing sites.

Google has been taking measures to make copyright infringing content less easy to find. The search engine started placing terms like 'torrent' and 'BitTorrent' on a 'black list', and has now expanded the list with names of file sharing sites like 'ThePirateBay' and '4 shared'. By filtering, Google removes the terms from its Autocomplete and Instant functions. These are the components of the search engine that automatically visualizes a suggestion or addition when you start typing into the Google search bar.

However, it appears that Google is not consistent with the new filtering search terms. For instant, the terms 'ThePirateBay' and 'Pirate Bay' can not be found in Instant and Autocomplete, but the terms 'pirate bay' and 'thepiratebay.org' can. It seems that Google still has a few things to improve. Google’s possibility to filter search terms is only intended for the components Instant and Autocomplete. The search engine still indexes the file sharing sites and shows them in the results.

Read more about Google’s filtering on FutureofCopyright.com:

• Google filters instant search results to stop piracy
• Google takes measures against piracy

Reference: Tweakers

By: Karen Groen