Google Ends MPAA Anti-Piracy Cooperation
Yesterday we reported that the MPAA is
discussing site blocking with major movie studios and law firms. They hope to implement site blocking within the United States using existing laws while avoiding a SOPA-style response from the public. While the use of site blocking to deal with copyright infringing sites is starting to take off in Europe, the United States has not yet experienced this type of censorship.
Also read: Torrent Directory Pirate Bay Raided Again, Currently Offline
Google has been cooperating with the MPAA so far, by removing torrent sites and other sites that host copyrighted material by its search results. But instead of showing appreciation, the MPAA criticized Google, According to a leaked email, Google executives were infuriated and decided to cooperation with the MPAA, Torrent Freak reports .
[N]o matter what Google does, no matter how it tweaks its search algorithms, it’s never been enough for the MPAA. For years the movie group has been piling on the pressure and whenever Google announces a new change, the MPAA (and often RIAA) tell the press that more can be done.
In this case, the MPAA stated that:
“Everyone shares a responsibility to help curb unlawful conduct online, and we are glad to see Google acknowledging its role in facilitating access to stolen content via search.”
Google Will No Longer Speak or Do Business With the Movie Group
This statement implies that, according to the MPAA, Google is guilty of intentionally breaking the law. Of course, Google isn’t happy. According to Torrent Freak, an email from the MPAA to the studios reads:
At the highest levels [Google are] extremely unhappy with our statement. [Google] conveyed that they feel as if they went above and beyond what the law requires; that they bent over backwards to give us a heads up and in return we put out a ‘snarky’ statement that gave them no credit for the positive direction.
In response to the snub, a top executive at Google’s policy department told the MPAA that his company would no longer speak or do business with the movie group. In future Google would speak with the studios directly.
Images from MPAA, turtix and Shutterstock.
