Yandex Yanked The Pirate Bay From its Search Results?
The Pirate Bay and search engines are not a happy marriage recently. On the contrary. For example, we previously reported on Google’s decision to remove thepiratebay.org from its search results in countries where ISPs are required to block the site. Searching for The Pirate Bay This type of deindexing is not unique to Google. As highlighted in the past, Bing has effectively wiped all Pirate Bay URLs from its index until only the main...
Tachiyomi Manga Reader: Threats Motivate Pirates & Boost Engagement
For those not fully engaged in the global manga/webtoon phenomenon, the scale and depth can be a little bewildering. Fans are knowledgeable, passionate, and growing in numbers, with many older enthusiasts having been introduced to the content via pirate sites, at a time when content was impossible to buy legally. Availability is much improved today but old habits die hard; pirate sites haven’t gone away either, a major challenge for...
Domain & IP Seizures in UK’s Criminal Justice Bill Could Apply to Pirate Sites
The UK government’s Criminal Justice Bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on November 14, 2023, followed by its second reading on November 28. A Public Bill Committee is now in the process of scrutinizing the Bill “line by line” and if all goes to plan, the Committee will report back to the House by January 30, in advance of the Bill’s third reading. The purpose of the Bill is to amend criminal law and, in many respects,...
Film Companies and Reddit Clash Again in Court over Anonymous Piracy Comments
Millions of people regularly pirate movies and music. While this is against the law, most don’t get into trouble. Some people feel so comfortable about their piracy habits that they openly discuss them online. On Reddit, for example, where most people use a semi-anonymous handle. Admissions of anonymous Redditors typically go unnoticed by copyright holders and, even when observed, it’s rare for companies to take matters further or ask...
Meta Admits Use of ‘Pirated’ Book Dataset to Train AI
In recent months, rightsholders of all ilks have filed lawsuits against companies that develop AI models. The list includes record labels, individual authors, visual artists, and more recently the New York Times. These rightsholders all object to the presumed use of their work without proper compensation. Several of the lawsuits filed by book authors include a piracy component as well. The cases allege that tech companies, including...
Google Sees DMCA Takedown Requests Surge to New Highs
In 2012, Google expanded its transparency report with a new section dedicated to DMCA takedown requests. For the first time, outsiders were able to see which URLs were being targeted by copyright holders and in what quantity. The decision to make this information public was in part triggered by a rapid increase in removal requests. The increased activity impacted the “free flow of information”, the search engine argued. According to...
