New Chapter to Google Story: Anti-piracy
As is commonly known, the internet has revolutionized the neo-age to a great extent. And in the past age, one company that touched the lives of probably every person who managed to access the internet is “Google Inc.”. It has been all pervasive, ever growing and better known than any other IT major of the world, so much so, that it has put to shame most dictionaries and encyclopedias.
And since January 2011, it has started to pen another worthwhile chapter to its story. ‘Google’, as it is popularly called, has begun to take steps to curb online piracy. And how? While conducting online search, Google provides for services like “Autocomplete” and “Instant Search”. The ‘autocomplete’ option suggests probable keywords when a user types in the Google search box. It gives possible suggestions to the users regarding the words and terms which could possibly fit in. The ‘instant search’ option, on the other hand, gives results simultaneously while the user types in the search box of Google.
These advancements have facilitated in taking the world of internet search on a different pedestal. This has happened not only in terms of saving time but also in suggesting possible search terms which could deliver better and accurate results. In order to curb piracy, Google has taken a leap in preventing online copyright infringement by forbidding piracy related keywords from the above services. The company has formulated a list of keywords which are prevented from being displayed on ‘Autocomplete’. Further if one of the blacklisted terms is being typed in the search box, then also no results will be displayed unless the full word is typed completely. These terms include words like names of few websites which aided in unauthorized, free of cost download of copyrighted materials, such as movies, songs, software programs, which otherwise are not available without a price. Few examples of these are “Torrent”, “Bit Torrent”, “RapidShare” etc. to name a few.
This may appear to be just a trivial step or just a drop in the ocean but what is commendable is the initiative taken by a private, commercial and independent organization. The issue of piracy swelling over the internet is not new. But when a commercial enterprise takes up this cause, where it has nothing to gain commercially then, it may well force people to rethink. Where governments have been little effective and interested parties had inadequate resources, Google, as an ‘uninterested’ party, seems to be on a social mission.
Google’s main source of revenue is its per-hit earning mechanism. By forbidding from suggesting piracy related keywords and related searches (unless specifically searched for) Google runs a risk of cutting into its own revenue stream adversely. The above move taken by Google has been appreciated by a lobby.
However, at the same time, there is a buzz regarding promoting commercial censorship worldwide by Google. It has been remarked that Google has taken this step at the instance of certain entertainment
industries. Google, being the uncrowned ruler in the area of internet search, by blocking the piracy related terms, could help in generating profits for the entertainment industry. And if not that directly, it could at least save them a few bucks!
The debate is a vicious one, but what is significant amidst all the contemplation is that there is a private organization which is taking a strong stance against the fiend of piracy. It would have been natural for the governments of any affected country to make anti-piracy laws but steps taken by private neutral bodies are uncommon.
Are others joining?