It’s like clockwork: Every quarter or so, one of the major Hollywood trade associations will come out with a blistering statement attacking Google for not doing enough the stop online piracy. The Guardian reports that this month it’s the Motion Picture Association of America’s turn to stamp its feet, as the lobbying group said this week that Google and other search engines “bear responsibility for introducing people to infringing content, even people who aren’t actively looking for it.”
The MPAA’s beef with Google this time is that 58% of searches that lead to infringing websites come from queries that aren’t specific to searches for pirated content. So, for instance, many searches for “Game of Thrones Season 3” will lead to websites with infringing content, not just searches for things like “Game of Thrones Season 3 free torrent.”
“The television and movie community is working every day to develop new and innovative ways to watch content online, and as the internet’s gatekeepers, search engines share a responsibility to play a constructive role in not directing audiences to illegitimate content,” said MPAA chairman Chris Dodd.
