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Data Shows: Removing 'Rogue Sites' From Search Won't Make Much Of A Difference
Techdirt Of course, not all of these sites are equal, so we decided to look more closely at the favorite bogeyman of the legacy entertainment industry: The Pirate Bay. To hear the industry tell the story, if Google just blocked The Pirate Bay from its results, … |
Popularity: unranked [?]
Make no mistake, the biggest entertainment companies in the world do not like file-hosting site MegaUpload.
Currently the huge cyberlocker resides on the destroy-them-all SOPA-directed “rogue site” list of the MPAA alongside The Pirate Bay. The site hasn’t gone unnoticed by the RIAA either. MegaUpload is on their list too, sandwiched between the leading torrent sites and warez forums.
So given this background, particularly when viewed through the prism of the ‘Cyber Monday’ domain seizures, it’s hardly surprising that panic set in yesterday when MegaUpload suddenly failed to load for many people all around the world, not just for a few minutes but for hours on end and into today. The site is reported to be back up for some, but Twitter and other networks are awash with complaints that the problems are continuing.
Speculation on the downtime is rife, but it appears that MegaUpload has problems with its domain registrar. At the time of writing, MegaUpload’s current DNS records as reported by Network Tools are listed as ns1.badwhoisshutdown.com and ns2.badwhoisshutdown.com. It’s unclear why the IP address listed (216.239.35.100) belongs to Google.
One of the common causes of this kind of DNS diversion is when domain registrars doubt that the provided WHOIS details for a domain are correct, so they ‘hijack’ the DNS records to prevent the domain resolving to the correct site. In 2009, MegaUpload sister site MegaVideo suffered similar problems but eventually returned after downtime.
TorrentFreak has put a request into MegaUpload for comment, but while we wait for the official response it seems clear that the problems have been massive. Right across the United States into Europe, from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, Japan, Australia, Canada, Brazil and UK, no area seems to have been unaffected.
For many the site remains down even now, providing an interesting taster of what SOPA has in store should it pass. Some reports suggest that switching to Google’s DNS provides a solution to the problem, others that using one of the site’s many IP addresses (http://174.140.154.23/ for example) is a better option.
In the meantime the conspiracy theories will continue. Did MegaUpload’s registrar hijack the DNS over a simple WHOIS detail error? Or perhaps the “trolls” warned about here laid some poison down for the site, or maybe there’s another more simple explanation?
When we get official word from MegaUpload we’ll report back – the AMA request on Reddit would be fun, but we doubt it will go answered.
Source: DNS ‘Seizure’ Takes Out MegaUpload
Popularity: unranked [?]
 Siliconrepublic.com |
Google adds Pirate Bay to search blacklist
musicweek.com Google has expanded its search blacklist to include the names of the top illegal file-sharing websites, including the Pirate Bay. The search giant has been removing more general terms like “torrent”, “BitTorrent” and “RapidShare” from … Google Now Censors The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, 4Shared and MoreTorrentFreak Google blacklisting file-sharing sites The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, 4Shared and moreSlashGear Google blocks The Pirate Bay from AutoCompleteSiliconrepublic.com The Sociable -Pocket-lint.com -ITProPortal all 15 news articles » |
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 TorrentFreak |
Google blacklisting file-sharing sites The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, 4Shared and more
SlashGear Google has started blacklisting many of the top file-sharing websites on the Internet, including torrent site The Pirate Bay, as well as isoHunt, and 4Shared. According to file-sharing blog TorrentFreak, “the changes were quietly processed and appear … Google Now Censors The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, 4Shared and MoreTorrentFreak Google Blocking Auto-Suggest On Torrent, Piracy SearchesLifehacker Australia |
Popularity: unranked [?]
 TorrentFreak |
Google Now Censors The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, 4Shared and More
TorrentFreak Google has expanded its search blacklist to include many of the top file-sharing sites on the Internet, including The Pirate Bay. The changes were quietly processed and appear to be broader than previous additions. Google's blacklist prevents the names … Google Blocking Auto-Suggest On Torrent, Piracy SearchesLifehacker Australia |
Popularity: unranked [?]
Since January 2011, Google has been filtering “piracy-related” terms from its ‘Autocomplete‘ and ‘Instant‘ services.
Google users searching for terms like “torrent”, “BitTorrent” and “RapidShare” will notice that no suggestions and search results appear before they type the full word. As a consequence, there’s sharp decrease in Google searches for these terms.
Initially only a handful of “piracy-related” terms were censored, but a recent update to the blacklist includes nearly all the top file-sharing websites.
Searches referring to torrent sites such as “thepiratebay,” “the pirate bay,” “isohunt,” “torrentreactor,” “btjunkie,” “kickasstorrents,” “sumotorrent,” “btmon,” “extratorrent” and many others are now excluded from ‘Autocomplete‘ and ‘Instant‘. Interestingly, the full url “thepiratebay.org” is still offered as a suggestion.
The new list further includes several cyberlocker websites that were perviously left unfiltered, such as “4shared,” “filesonic” and “fileserve.” Although Google doesn’t censor the content of the websites in question, the incoming traffic via Google searches is certainly affected as can be seen below.
By voluntarily censoring parts of their search services, Google is trying to keep on friendly terms with copyright holders. The downside to this is that they put perfectly legitimate companies such as BitTorrent Inc and RapidShare at a disadvantage.
There is currently no clear definition of what Google considers to be piracy-inducing, but Google claims that the blacklist helps to reduce online piracy.
“While there is no silver bullet for infringement online, this measure is one of several that we have implemented to curb copyright infringement online,” Google spokesman Mistique Cano previously told TorrentFreak.
“This is something we looked at and thought we could make some narrow and relatively easy changes to our Autocomplete algorithm that could make a positive difference,” Cano added.
How positive this difference really is, of course depends on who you ask. IsoHunt owner Gary Fung told TorrentFreak that Google is going down a dangerous path.
“It’s a lot more subtle than the censorship attempts made possible by the pending PROTECT IP and SOPA bills, but it’s still censorship and it starts small. Google is increasingly becoming a self-righteous Big Brother of the Web. So much for ‘Do no evil’,” Fung told us.
A Pirate Bay insider also told TorrentFreak that Google doesn’t live up up to its famous motto.
“”It’s just another step towards censoring their search engine altogether – without a legal basis. We’re also wondering why this happens at almost the same time as they’ve released Google Music – a service where they sell music which in some cases might be found on The Pirate Bay,” he added.
Despite criticism from the public and the businesses affected by their blacklist, Google has said that it will continue to expand its piracy filter. The big question is, where will they draw the line?
Source: Google Now Censors The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, 4Shared and More
Popularity: 1% [?]
With more than a million installs FrostWire is one of the most popular file-sharing applications on the Android platform. But despite this success Google has decided to pull the app from the Android market place.
FrostWire’s Angel Leon tells TorrentFreak that his company was not informed why FrostWire was suspended, but the first thought is that it has something to do with the recent settlement his company reached with the FTC.
Just before the weekend several news outlets reported that FrostWire and the FTC had settled their court case over privacy concerns. The government agency, which aims to protect the rights of consumers, alleged that FrostWire was disregarding users’ privacy by sharing files by default.
FrostWire agreed that this was a valid concern and based on pointers from the trade commission, updated its desktop and Android applications. These updates were actually carried out months ago, meaning that since then the application was no longer a concern for the FTC, hence the settlement.
“We fixed the app ages ago, and probably 99.9% of the userbase is actually running 0.6.3 (one generation over), so there shouldn’t be a hint of worry in regards to the FTC Complaints,” Leon said.
However, some reports in the media made it seem like FrostWire was still breaching users’ privacy, and this may have triggered Google’s decision to boot the app from the Android market.
Angel Leon notes that the worst part of it all is the lack of communication on Google’s part. Aside from a notice that the application had been suspended, the FrostWire team has received no information. It could be that the removal is totally unrelated to the FTC issue, but without a word from Google that’s impossible to confirm.
“It’s just plain wrong that you get suspended without ANY explanation or ANY notice, specially an app for which people have said they bought an Android for, and which has been installed on over 1 million devices during the last 12 months,” Leon says.
Attempts from both the developers and TorrentFreak to contact Google about the issue remained unanswered thus far, so there is no other option for FrostWire than to wait.
For now the FrostWire Android app can still be downloaded via the FrostWire website. However, the number of shared files has dropped dramatically since this setting was disabled by default.
In the coming weeks the FrostWire team will turn the Android app into a (more usable) BitTorrent client, as they’ve already done with the desktop version. The source of this new client will be released under a GPL license as soon as the first version is released.
Let’s hope that by then FrostWire will have been allowed back into the Android market.
Source: Google Boots FrostWire From Android Market, But Why?
Popularity: unranked [?]
Late last year both the MPAA and RIAA informed the Office of the US Trade Representative that RapidShare is a piracy haven, a so-called rogue website.
In the hope of correcting this and other misconceptions surrounding their operations, RapidShare then took the unprecedented step of hiring the lobbying firm Dutko Worldwide, who also work for Google.
Initially, little was known about the priorities of RapidShare in Washington, but the most recent lobbying report filed by Dutko reveals that the PROTECT IP Act is high up the list. For good reason, because if the bill becomes law RapidShare could be one of the first to be put out of business, in the United States at least.
Under the PROTECT IP Act, authorities (and copyright holders) will have a broad range of tools to censor sites they deem to be facilitating copyright infringement, starting with domain seizures.
In case a domain is not registered or controlled by a U.S. company, authorities can order search engines to remove the website from their search results and order ISPs to block the website.
Although the above measures are already quite far-reaching, the bill also allows for private copyright holders to use some of the same tools as the Government. Without due process, copyright holders can obtain a court order to prevent payment providers and ad-networks from doing business with sites that allegedly facilitate copyright infringement.
One of the many problems of such a law is who gets to decide what the definition of a “rogue website” is. In common with other file-sharing platforms, RapidShare is often labeled as seriously problematic, despite the fact that they’ve been found to operate legally by a U.S. federal court. This could lead to a situation where hundreds of legitimate businesses are virtually shut down because the entertainment industry sees them as a threat.
To make lawmakers aware of these threats and to improve their image in Washington, RapidShare has already spent $260,000 in lobbying efforts during the first half of 2011.
The PROTECT IP Act, currently placed on hold by Senator Ron Wyden, is crucial in this regard as the RIAA and MPAA have already labeled RapidShare as a rogue website. This means that when the bill is signed into law the file-hoster could be one of the first companies to be targeted.
Whether RapidShare’s lobbying efforts in Washington will pay off is yet to be seen. It is no secret that entertainment industry groups are lobbying extensively in favor of the PROTECT IP Act, with much bigger budgets. That said, it’s certainly better than standing idly by.
In the coming months RapidShare is expected to continue their lobbying efforts at the White House Office, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Not only against the PROTECT IP Act, but to improve the image of their company and protect their rights and those of other file-hosting services.
Source: RapidShare Lobbies Lawmakers Against PROTECT IP Act
Popularity: unranked [?]
When the U.S. Government began seizing domain names last year, a group called “MAFIAAFire” decided to code a browser add-on to redirect the affected websites to their new domains.
Releasing the browser add-on had a bigger impact than the MAFIAA Fire team could have ever hoped for. The U.S. Government was not amused by this “uncensor tool” and asked Mozilla to pull the it from their site. However, Mozilla refused to do so and the add-on gained Internet fame as a result.
This success motivated the MAFIAAFire team to come up with more anti-censorship tools. Two months ago they released the “Gee! No evil!” plugin which thwarts Google’s search engine censorship, and today they introduce a fresh add-on for Firefox and Chrome, which allows people to find alternative URLs for blocked content.
Named “Slash Unblocker” – a reference to a recent South Park episode – the add-on provides a quick way for people to submit and obtain links for videos or other content that has been taken down or removed.
“The idea is born out of the general frustration you have when you go to a page and see it has been taken down for some stupid reason. Or because the page is “not authorized for viewing in your country”,” the MAFIAAFire team explained to TorrentFreak.
The plugin is pretty straightforward. Whenever you run into a page that contains content which is blocked in your country, or has been taken down entirely, you’ll click on the “Slash Unblocker” button to see if there are alternative sources. The system relies on participation from users, who are encouraged to submit alternative sources when there are none available.
The video below explains in detail how the process works.
With more than 100,000 downloads the previous MAFIAAFire plugins have been a great success. This motivated the team to continue working on new projects that they believe are needed to stop the ever-increasing censorship attempts on the Internet. Not just because the tools are useful, but also to make a statement.
“The message is you CAN fight back, the time to fight back is NOW, we outnumber them in numbers, intelligence, and will,” the MAFIAAFire team told us. “The fact that the U.S. Government tried to interfere with what we are doing is testament to it working.”
Although not everyone will agree with the tactics used, MAFIAAFire is once again proving John Gilmore right:
“The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.”
Source: MAFIAAFire’s ‘Slash Unblocker’ Revives Blocked and Deleted Videos
Popularity: 1% [?]
 scallywagandvagabond |
Can We Please Take a Break from Blaming the Internet?
TIME The Pirate Bay website made money by illegally offering major-label albums, even as music sales declined to less than half of what they were 10 years ago. YouTube used clips from shows such as NBC's Saturday Night Live to build a business that Google … The Latest Entrant Into The Economically Clueless, Luddite 'Internet Is Evil …Techdirt |
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