BPI wants Google, search engines to censor illegal downloads

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), besides posting huge piracy numbers for the UK, has also taken shots at Google, claiming the search engine is used just as often as P2P apps for illegal downloads.

Furthermore, the trade group would like Google and other engines to censor their search results and instead push legal services like iTunes, Amazon and others.

Says the BPI (via TF):

"Search engines are as popular as P2P applications as a source of illegal downloads. It�s not hard to see why. Key in the name of any popular artist, add search terms like �mp3′ or �download� � both neutral terms � and typically the large majority of results that appear are blatant links to illegal downloads."

To test its hypothesis, BPI searched for many of the top pop songs and found that search results almost always included links to unauthorized downloads as top results.

"In a single week in November, BPI test searches were made on Google for the UK�s top 20 singles or albums, followed by �mp3′. On average 17 of the first 20 Google results for singles and 14 of 20 search results for albums were links to known illegal sites," said the BPI report.

The trade group directly names Mediafire, mp3raid and Megaupload as "illicit" sources for music downloads.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Dec 2010 1:30

ROMaster2

Is it me, or has the 'crackdown' on piracy and censorship in general become far more flamboyant since Wikileaks became mainstream?

17.12.2010 01:34 #1

hikaricor

Coincidental timing.
They're also trying to make a big fuss about piracy around the holiday season season to scare morons into buying things instead of downloading them.

17.12.2010 01:55 #2

xboxdvl2

if britain has a problem with google then they can block it.every week on here some group is trying to shut down or intimadate a website which is hosted in another country.If its not hosted in your country you should have no right to do anything to it (not sure about in reality,in theory that should apply).

PS2 with 12 games.
pc-windows 7,intel core quad Q8400,4 Gb ddr2,WD 500 GB hdd,ATI Radeon HD 4550 graphics,AOC 22inch LCD moniter.

17.12.2010 02:30 #3

bankai987

This sounds like 1984. The music industry wanting the government to dip their hands in everything.

17.12.2010 02:50 #4

dEwMe

Google and the like are just search engines. They are not nor should they be responsible for the legality or otherwise of the sites your search turns up. What is this China, Iran...?

Just my $0.02,

dEwMe

17.12.2010 11:05 #5

DXR88

BPI is making the biggest mistake of its life, you can sue dead grannies,coping machines, ex college students, and poor people. simply because they can't afford the best lawyer and legal advisory committee.

Google can and will crush BPI under its iron fists make no mistake of that.

17.12.2010 12:25 #6

ZippyDSM

When you can't make them buy call them terrorists and enforce media consumption at penalty of law.

Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy!
Ah modern gaming its like modern film only the watering down of fiction and characters is replaced with shallow and watered down mechanics, gimmicks and shiny-er "people".
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/

17.12.2010 12:35 #7

Zealousi

Not only is wikileaks rolling in the traffic on a global basis, Google is doing it's job surprise surprise. Would Google be popular if it did not search for what your looking for, what is blocking a keyword going to reduce the end result. It will just screw up normal searches due to the search is keyword based as everyone knows.

Until the internet is not a open battlefield, there will all ways be a way and when one shuts down 5 pop up with 1 of them being the next big site to replace the one shutdown.

Face it, your outnumbered. The community will all ways get it's way because we have to and we do not rest until we have control over our freedom.

17.12.2010 17:13 #8

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by Zealousi: Not only is wikileaks rolling in the traffic on a global basis, Google is doing it's job surprise surprise. Would Google be popular if it did not search for what your looking for, what is blocking a keyword going to reduce the end result. It will just screw up normal searches due to the search is keyword based as everyone knows.

Until the internet is not a open battlefield, there will all ways be a way and when one shuts down 5 pop up with 1 of them being the next big site to replace the one shutdown.

Face it, your outnumbered. The community will all ways get it's way because we have to and we do not rest until we have control over our freedom.
But google is starting to mess with results based on piracy and fake child porn.

17.12.2010 23:49 #9

KillerBug

...Then screw google. If they want to filter results, we will just go elsewhere. The record companies have already lost most of us due to a laundry list of incompetent blunders and policies...now they are going around trying to get others to make the same mistakes. Give the people what they want, when they want it, and for a fair price (or for a free service, without too many advertisements). Fail to do this, and people will start getting the exact same service from someone else for a better deal. This is the foundation of capitalism.

18.12.2010 02:05 #10

ZippyDSM

Dumbing down the masses to do as the few say is also capitalism....

18.12.2010 02:36 #11

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