UK MPs slam Google for failing to block piracy websites

UK MPs have criticised Google for making "derisory" attempts aimed at curbing music and film piracy and using its "perceived power and influence" with David Cameron's government to strengthen its position.

Google came in for accusations from the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee of offering the thinnest of excuses for not doing enough against widespread piracy, a problem that the committee claimed was costing creative industries millions of pounds in lost revenue a year.

According to Tory MP, John Whittingdale, the chairman of the committee, his fellow MPs were not impressed by the continued failure of the company to stop directing consumers to illegal, copyright infringing material on the flimsy excuse that some of the sites might also host some legal content.

He added, the continuing promotion of illegal content through search engines was simply unacceptable, and efforts to stop it had so far been derisory.

In a report, the MPs also said Google was foremost among internet giants in ability to influence coalition policy-making. According to MPs they had received many from creative industries about Google's "perceived power and influence in the government's inner, policy-making sanctum".

In a remark that the report highlighted, Lord Younger told the MPs while giving evidence to their committee that Google was ''one of several search engines and I am very aware of their power, put it that way. I am also very aware … that they have access, for whatever reason, to higher levels than me in No 10, I understand."

The Daily Mail newspaper last year revealed  that Tory ministers had held meetings with Google an average of once a month since the General Election.

Cameron had also been roundly criticised for being extremely accommodative with Google cronies. Rachel Whetstone, Google's global head of communications, worked with Cameron at Carlton Television and the prime minister was godfather to her youngest son. She is married to Steve Hilton, Cameron's former policy guru.

According to Whittingdale, the CMS committee's blocking of websites, which offered illegal downloads of music, film and video games, could not be 'beyond the wit' of Google's engineers.

Creative industries which were worth over £36 billion to Britain would be 'put at risk' if creators could not rely on intellectual property rights being 'robustly enforced', according to Whittingdale.