onlinepiracy
Latest
Google and Microsoft agree to demote pirate search results
The UK government has drawn up a 'Voluntary Code of Practice' designed to demote search results for copyright-infringing websites. The new guidelines, which come into effect immediately, have been signed by Google, Bing, the Motion Picture Association and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). They formalise and "accelerate" the process by which a rights holder can flag what it perceives to be a site containing illegal content. If the request is upheld, the link will be removed from "the first page of search results," according to the UK's Intellectual Property Office.
Almost a fifth of online Brits are enjoying content illegally
The UK government is increasing its efforts to clamp down on online piracy, and now we know the reason why: illegal downloads and streaming are on the rise. Research commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) shows that the number of people accessing content illegally has risen from 17 to 18 percent since 2013. (That equates to roughly 7.8 million Brits pirating at least one item over a three-month period.) Nine percent of internet users aged 12 and above admitted to downloading or streaming music illegally at least once between March and May 2015. Six percent confessed to pirating a movie and seven percent revealed they had watched TV shows illegally. These figures are mostly consistent with the last batch of research conducted by Kantar Media two years ago -- only TV programming has shown change, rising by one percentage point.
