Google to ban torrent sites soon
13 Feb 2017
Google has decided to ban all Torrent site links from its search engine results in bid to curb online piracy.
Entertainment industry production houses had repeatedly pointed to the ease in searching for torrents on Google. The decision comes as the search company's latest move to address the issue.
The internet is a haven for websites and portals that promote piracy and offer content, including movies, shows, and music, which hurts the entertainment industry's revenues.
Apart from the impact on revenue such sites also violate the copyright and intellectual property rights of the content creators.
With such websites in sight, Google and other search companies are said to be in talks with entertainment companies to sign a voluntary agreement which will curb the appearance of links to such websites.
Torrent Freak, "a publication dedicated to bringing the latest news about copyright, privacy, and everything related to filesharing", reported that the agreement would take effect by 1 June, 2017.
However, with the agreement still to be finalised, it was expected that the government could impose a stricter code of practice on search engines, compelling them to deal with infringement.
Governments in many countries cracked down on Torrent sites in 2016, starting with the arrest of Kickass Torrent chief in Poland, wanted for copyright infringement, money laundering, and other charges. Only days after the action, Torrentz.eu disappeared leaving a message: ''Torrentz will always love you. Farewell''.
Soon several popular websites, were also taken down and though many of them are now fully functional.
However, things could soon, change with Google and other search engine companies stepping in.
Entertainment companies had long been asking Google to remove several links that promoted pirated content. Though Google had taken several measures to prevent search results that promoted pirated content from appearing, the internet search giant received a billion take-down requests every year.
