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Tag: Takedown Requests

  • Google ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ Requests Reportedly Averaging 10K Per Day

    After the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Google and other search engines must take requests for search results to be deleted in what has become known as the “right to be forgotten,” Google immediately received 12,000 requests. That was before Google launched a tool for people to actually make requests.

    Late last week, the company did release one, and the number of requests has predictably skyrocketed. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that requests are actually averaging about 10,000 per day, and that Google said on Tuesday that it had already received 41,000 requests.

    Google doesn’t have to honor all requests. It just has to take them into consideration. Still, that’s a lot of consideration. The average daily number of requests will likely decrease significantly as time goes on. The whole thing is new, and is making a lot of headlines, so of course the number is going to be huge right now, but either way, there is clearly massive interest in it, and Google will likely have its hands full for a long time.

    As the Journal notes, the 10,000 a day breaks down to about seven per minute. They should add that to the Internet in Real-Time graphic. That’s actually down significantly from the day after Google launched the request tool, when it was more like 20 requests per minute.

    The Journal has sources that say Google may have to hire new staffers or redirect internal resources to handle all of the requests. At the current rate, that seems like a given.

    At least the tool only applies to a select group of countries, though it’s not exactly a small group. Should this tool become available to more parts of the world, Google is going to really have its work cut out for it.

    You can read more about how the tool works here.

    Image via Google

  • Google’s ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ Tool Immediately Attracts Over 12,000 Requests

    As you may know, Google has a new way for people in Europe to request search results to be removed. This stems from the recent controversial “right to be forgotten” ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union that requires it and other search engines to take such requests.

    We knew Google was already getting thousands of requests before it even launched the new tool, but it’s gotten thousands more in the less than 24 hours since it did start providing it. Reuters reports:

    After putting up the online form in the early hours of Friday, Google received 12,000 requests across Europe, sometimes averaging 20 per minute, by late in the day, the company said.

    “The court’s ruling requires Google to make difficult judgements about an individual’s right to be forgotten and the public’s right to know,” a Google spokesman said.

    According to the report, representatives from the EU’s data protection authorities will discuss implications of the ruling at a meeting next week.

    Image via Google+

  • Google To Present New Approach To Take-Down Requests Soon

    Earlier this month, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Google and other search engines must take requests from people for search results to be deleted. Search engines may not actually delete all results requested, but must consider them on a case-by-case basis, which could see them fighting in numerous court battles.

    Google has already seen thousands of requests since the ruling.

    Bloomberg is reporting that a Germany-based spokesperson for Google said the company does not plan to automate the handling of takedown requests, but will present the approach it does intend to take in the coming weeks.

    This comes as authorities in that country are implementing a process. Patrick Donahue and Cornelius Rahn report:

    Following a European Union court decision this month granting consumers the “right to be forgotten,” the Interior Ministry in Berlin would seek to establish “dispute-settlement mechanisms” for consumers who file so-called take-down requests. If search providers introduce automatic deletion, public information would be at risk, the ministry said.

    “Politicians, prominent figures and other persons who are reported about in public would be able to hide or even delete reports they find unpleasant,” it said in a statement. The ministry suggested that the removal of information shouldn’t be left to company algorithms.

    What could possibly go wrong?

    Don’t forget to watch John Oliver’s take on the EU’s ruling. It’s pretty spot on.

    Image via Google

  • Google Rejects DMCA Request, Keeps The Pirate Bay Homepage

    Google Rejects DMCA Request, Keeps The Pirate Bay Homepage

    In case you are new to the anti-piracy crusade, one of the biggest players on the side copyright keepers is the British Phonograph Industry, or, the BPI. While they may not be as well known as the RIAA, at least in the United States, they are every bit as prolific when it comes to DMCA takedown requests to Google. With that in mind, it’s pretty safe to say the BPI is offended by the existence of a site like The Pirate Bay; so much so, in fact, they have no problem when it comes to asking Google to remove TPB’s homepage from their search engine index.

    As pointed out by Torrent Freak, to Google’s credit, they do not remove pages unless the site in question contains, or is linking to infringing content. This means while The Pirate Bay’s search results pages may not show up in the Google index, the site’s homepage meets these standards, and should not be excluded. In the case of the BPI’s filing, there were 171 requests for the removal of the following address: thepiratebay.sx.

    Google responded with a “No Action Taken,” which comes with the following explanation:

    Number of URLs specified in this copyright removal request that we did not remove because we did not find the specified copyright infringement; we already reviewed the URLs in a previous request; or the URLs were malformed or otherwise led to an error.

    It should be noted that the BPI’s request included 2055 URLs removed, which is important if any institutions attempt to accuse Google of advocating piracy in future legislation discussions; although, it’s pretty clear these same institutions won’t be happy unless Google openly manipulates their search results.

    Just ask the RIAA:

    Despite having received the notices of vast claimed infringements specified above, the sites in question continue to appear in the top 10 search ranking results for searches for an mp3 or download of popular tracks or popular artists.

    Maybe these competing sites should learn some basic SEO instead of relying on Google to knock the offending sites out of the high rankings.

    [Lead image via Google Trends]

  • Microsoft Legitimizes Xbox 720 Leak With Takedown Notices

    When a 56-page document that appears to be Microsoft’s plans for its next-generation Xbox console was leaked online last week, many gamers immediately called it a fake. Titled “IEB (Interactive Entertainment Business) Roadmap,” the document also described an updated Kinect and the Kinect Glasses – an augmented-reality headset for the Xbox.

    Some readers questioned the formatting of the document, while others questioned the make-up of the supposed console. Though a substantial upgrade from the Xbox 360, with 4 GB of RAM and a 1 GHz video card the described Xbox 720 would only be considered a mid-range gaming PC. Of course, the document is already two years old, meaning, if real, Microsoft might have upgraded some of the parts in the intervening time.

    Now, Microsoft is legitimizing the leaked document by sending out takedown requests to those who have published the document. It is also being reported that Dropbox is removing the document from shared folders on its service. The takedown notice sent to the Czech tech news website IHNED.cz indicates that the document is, in fact, a copyrighted work of Microsoft. This confirms that, as of two years ago, this was Microsoft’s plan for its Xbox brand.

    So, now the world knows about the Kinect Glasses and that Microsoft, at least two years ago, considered calling its next console the “Xbox 720.” There are not enough lawyers in the world to plunge the information into the memory hole now, and Microsoft would do well to read up on the Streisand effect. It’s a shame that the company has decided to attempt to suppress what was some very exciting news for gamers. More moves of this sort might even cancel out the positive media attention Microsoft is getting from the announcement of its Surface tablets, despite its debut crash.

    (via IHNED.cz)

  • Does Microsoft Ignore Bing’s Results?

    Earlier this week, Google released their annual Transparency Report, which, among other things, focuses on the multitude of search engine result takedown requests they receive. Among the information contained within, there’s a list of the entities issuing these requests. The far and away leader of this group is a company called Marketly, and if you look at their list of requests, you’ll see that Microsoft is an important client of theirs.

    Considering Microsoft’s massive size, it makes sense for them to outsource this kind of work. Going after infringement via search engine results is surely a tedious job, the kind such delegation was made for. That’s all fine and good. The rub, however, comes when a takedown request is issued to Google, but the same result remains in the Bing search index.

    Mind you, Google heeded the request and removed the search result in question.

    With that in mind, when the company issuing the takedown request still has the result in its own search index, it comes off as negligent, incompetent, or hypocritical. The question is, which one applies to Microsoft Bing? The reason this question comes up is due to a discovery made by TechDirt, which finds the following takedown request for an Xbox game called DiRT 2 from a site called TorrentRoom.com. The URL in question is as follows:

    http://www.torrentroom.com/torrent/3664273-DiRT-2-XBOX-360-RF.html

    When a search is conducted in each engine, you’ll find the link has been removed from Google–the Chilling Effects report indicating as much–but, as of this post, it still remains in Bing:

    Google Result

    Bing Result

    As TechDirt points out, Google has taken criticism for how quickly it responds to takedown requests. Whether that’s valid or not, at least Google responds to such obvious copyright infringement in their search results. Perhaps Microsoft should turn Marketly loose on Bing’s search results as well.

    Or maybe Marketly could point this out to their clients, allowing Microsoft to remove the very result it’s asking Google to remove. Whatever the case, if you’re going to ask other search engines to get rid of content that infringes on your brand, perhaps you should check to make sure your search results are up to par, as well.

  • Google Gets Over a Million Takedown Requests Each Month

    Google’s yearly transparency report is available, and right away, they make one thing perfectly clear: They get and respond to over 1 million takedown requests on a monthly basis.

    Not only do they respond, but they apparently act. According to one of their many FAQs, Google removed “97% of search results specified in requests that we received between July and December 2011.” That means if your search result takedown request is legitimate–which, according to Google’s response rate, most are–Google will work in favor of the copyright that the takedown is trying to protect.

    While the takedown request data itself is interesting, a deeper look at what companies are responsible for them and what areas they come from on a global basis is even more so. First, the general request information screenshot:

    Takedown Requests

    As you can see, takedown requests are an active part of a Google Engineer’s life. A tweet from Matt Cutts confirms as much:

    Matt Cutts
    @mattcutts     New transparency about copyright removal requests: http://t.co/KNUtsyqN Google gets >250K requests each week.
    33 minutes ago via Tweet Button · powered by @socialditto
     Reply  · Retweet  · Favorite

    As for the agencies that use takedown requests the most, it reads like a who’s who of copyright protection organizations:

    Requests

    The following screenshot is for the top reporting organizations for the past month, and as you can see, the leader in terms of takedown requests is an agency called Marketly llc. According to their profile page, Marketly issues over 30,000 URL takedown requests a week, most, if not all of them for the Microsoft Corporation. It’s hard not to wonder how many “free” copies of Microsoft Office they’ve come across. Google also has a map of where these takedown requests initiate from, and let’s just say, our British friends–mainly BPI, aka, the British Recorded Music Industry–have been incredibly busy:

    Request Map

    So what does all this data mean? That search engines are not the best tool to use when looking to fileshare? Well, there’s definitely that, but it also means there are some diligent companies out there working hard to prevent this kind of web use. Of course, considering just how widespread piracy is, it seems as if their efforts are akin to using a peashooter to try and stop a herd of rampaging elephants.

    That being said, for those government officials and entertainment industry leaders who accuse Google of supporting piracy because of their anti-SOPA stance, here’s Google’s position plain English, courtesy of their blog post discussing their transparency report:

    Fighting online piracy is very important, and we don’t want our search results to direct people to materials that violate copyright laws. So we’ve always responded to copyright removal requests that meet the standards set out in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). At the same time, we want to be transparent about the process so that users and researchers alike understand what kinds of materials have been removed from our search results and why. To promote that transparency, we have long shared copies of copyright removal requests with Chilling Effects, a nonprofit organization that collects these notices from Internet users and companies. We also include a notice in our search results when items have been removed in response to copyright removal requests.

    So the next time you hear a grandstanding politician say something like “Google profits from piracy and the advertising pirates do,” be sure to smack them in the mouth. Actually, no. Don’t get thrown in jail due to someone else’s ignorance. Just keep the above blockquote in mind, and hell, maybe even send it to the offending party, along with the transparency report.