We wrote last year, many times, about the discussions being hosted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport between rights holders and various intermediaries – which to normal people means companies like Internet Service Providers and search engines. One of the most recent roundtables saw the group of rights holders present search engines with a paper on how they should help tackle copyright infringement.
After two Freedom of Information requests, we have received the proposals [pdf]. Here’s the summary of what the rights holders were asking for:
- Assign lower rankings to sites that repeatedly make available unlicensed content in breach of copyright.
- Prioritise websites that obtain certification as a licensed site under a recognised scheme
- Stop indexing websites that are subject to court orders while establishing suitable procedures to de-index substantially infringing sites
- Continue to improve the operation of the notice and takedown system and ensure that search engines do not encourage consumers towards illegal sites via suggested searches; related searches and suggested sites
- Ensure that they do not support illegal sites by advertising them or placing advertising on them, or profit from infringement by selling key words associated with piracy or selling mobile applications which facilitate infringement.
The minutes from the meeting suggest that the search engines were not impressed, and promised to write their own proposals to be discussed at a future meeting.
…Read the full article
Offsite: Google grilled by parliamentary committee
31st January 2012. See article from blogs.ft.com
Google was dragged over the coals by a British parliamentary committee, as the technology company’s approach to removing illegal content from its search results again came under scrutiny.
Several members of the joint committee on privacy and injunctions, chaired by John Whittingdale MP, repeatedly attacked Google’s representatives as they set out how the search engine seeks to balance legal challenges with freedom of expression.
Ben Bradshaw, Nadim Zahawi, and Lord Mawhinney, all criticised Google for what they saw as its failure to help victims of invasion of privacy, by removing all links to content which a judge has ruled to be illegal in the UK.
…Read the full article
