The surge in takedown requests from Google indicates a significant increase in efforts to combat online piracy. Over a billion links to pirate sites were reported for removal in less than nine months, reflecting a notable uptick compared to previous periods. While this surge may seem unprecedented, it’s important to note that it follows a trend of increasing enforcement against online piracy.
Of particular note is the substantial contribution from MindGeek, the parent company of PornHub, which accounted for more than a quarter of all reported links related to a single website. This underscores the significant role that major content providers play in combating piracy, as they actively work to protect their intellectual property rights and combat unauthorized distribution of their content.
Google’s Transparency Report, launched in spring 2012, marked a significant step in the company’s efforts to track and publish all DMCA takedown requests it receives. This initiative has not only provided valuable data for hundreds of news reports but has also been utilized in academic research to understand trends in online piracy and copyright enforcement.
Recently, Google achieved a remarkable milestone by processing its seven billionth removal request. This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it occurred less than a year after the company recorded its six billionth takedown. The rapid increase in removal requests underscores the ongoing efforts by content owners and rights holders to combat online piracy and protect intellectual property rights in the digital sphere.
The surge in reported URLs to Google search, totaling a billion in less than nine months, is notable when compared to previous trends. It took twice as long to go from five to six billion reported URLs, suggesting a renewed acceleration in takedown efforts.
A significant portion of this increase can be attributed to MG Premium, an intellectual property arm of MindGeek, which intensified its takedown efforts earlier this year. MindGeek, known for operating popular adult sites like PornHub, aimed to combat ‘unlicensed’ sites or make them virtually inaccessible.
Following a multi-million dollar damages win against the pirate ‘tube site’ Daftsex in a U.S. federal court, MG Premium pursued a vigorous DMCA takedown campaign. Despite the court order to shut down the main .com domain, Daftsex continued its operations using alternative domains such as dsex.to and daft.sex. In response, MG Premium launched an unprecedented takedown spree, flagging over a quarter billion Daftsex URLs in just a few months.
The surge in takedown requests, as illustrated in the graph, reached peaks where the company was averaging over two million requests per day. While the volume has slightly decreased recently, it remains a significant factor contributing to Google’s overall takedown increase.
However, the seven billion figure requires context. It includes duplicate URLs and pages not indexed by Google, which are monitored to prevent future additions. Additionally, Google rejects millions of takedown requests that fail to demonstrate links to infringing content. This includes instances where legitimate URLs, such as those belonging to Netflix, IMDb, government agencies, and even law enforcement, were inaccurately flagged.
Furthermore, not all takedown notices originate from the claimed entities. Imposters have been known to send notices falsely attributed to legitimate rightsholders, often as a tactic employed by pirate site operators to target their competitors.
