Google Removes Pirate Bay Domains from Search Results Citing Dutch Court Order
Google has removed The Pirate Bay and more than 100 related domains from its search results in the Netherlands. The search engine points to a local pirate site-blocking order that was forwarded by anti-piracy group BREIN. The order targets ISPs and doesn't name Google but the company chose to voluntarily comply. TorrentFreak reports: The reason for this broad removal is provided by Google itself. The search giant notes that the results were removed in response to a legal request. This 'request' came from local anti-piracy group BREIN and includes a copy of a Dutch site-blocking order. The order, issued in October last year, required Dutch ISPs Ziggo, KPN, and XS4ALL to block access to Pirate Bay mirrors and proxy sites. Google isn't listed as a party in this lawsuit, but a copy was sent to the search engine nonetheless. BREIN's request, at least the part that's available publicly, doesn't explain why it would apply to Google. However, BREIN informs us that it's not uncommon for Internet services to comply with orders that don't target them directly. A few weeks ago, Dutch ISPs agreed to a covenant where they promise to comply with site-blocking orders that are targeted at other ISPs. While Google is not part of this agreement, in this case it chose to follow the court order. "In essence, this is the same situation as recently agreed in the Dutch government-supported covenant between right holders and internet access providers," BREIN director Tim Kuik informs TorrentFreak. "Dutch case law also shows that once there is a contested court order against one access provider, courts do grant the same order against others if they refuse to conform to it even though they are not named in it." The report notes that this is "the first time that Google has complied with a pirate site blocking order without being named." BREIN has gone on to submit the legal paperwork to block six additional pirate sites, including proxies and mirrors.
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