Google blocks BitTorrent from search suggestions

 

Google adds to the naughty dictionary.

Google has added the word "Bittorrent" to a list of terms regarded as on the nose to the search engine's auto-complete service, along with related terms like utorrent and rapidshare.

Start typing the word "bittorrent" in Google's search bar, and by the time you get to "bitt", the list of results goes blank.

Search results aren't blocked and still appear when a user presses enter, and the BitTorrent site still comes in as the number one listing.

Google has instead only stopped suggesting the word BitTorrent as part of its 'auto-complete' service. It prevents the word appearing as users start typing "bitt…", and prevents search results from automatically appearing before the user clicks the 'Search' icon or presses 'Enter' on the keyboard.

There is a long list of words Google officially won't suggest when users search. many of which are discussed here.

"We will prevent terms that are closely associated with piracy from appearing in Autocomplete," the search engine explained in a December 2010 statement. "While it’s hard to know for sure when search terms are being used to find infringing content, we’ll do our best to prevent Autocomplete from displaying the terms most frequently used for that purpose."

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Google blocks BitTorrent from search suggestions
"@grumpybug - Google accuse Bing of copying its search results. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/24... As they say, Guns don't kill people, people kill people. So ban the gun."
By KarL
 
 
 
Comments: 8
Thysce
Feb 1, 2011 8:51 AM
This is absurd. Bittorrenting itself is _NOT_ piracy. Whether bittorrenting is being used as a method of piracy is determined by the information/material that is being transported.

Google are shooting themselves in the foot here.
Maxxi2
Feb 1, 2011 9:20 AM
A bit of over-reacting Thysce?

"We will prevent terms that are closely associated with piracy from appearing in Autocomplete,"...

Seems pretty reasonable. Google is not blocking access to the results, just excluding them from Google suggested sites.

Just mild censorship. Even Google uses censorship Thysce. Elegantly and selectively we should note, but it does.

And are they wrong about BitTorrent? Is it closely associated with and often used for Piracy or not?

If you believe that piracy is for the good of the online community then you need have no fear, BitTorrent will win out in the end.

Corsair
Feb 1, 2011 10:12 AM
So ...what this basically means is that you have to hit enter after entering in a search criteria?

Oh the horror!
grumpybug
Feb 1, 2011 10:34 AM
and the additional 6 characters "orrent". I have busy life, I don't have time to type these additional characters, really what was Google thinking..

And there is the extra wear on my keyboard having to type "orrent" all the time, there's a class action in itself against Google.

Time to move to Bing, they still auto complete the word Bittorrent.
Ace
Feb 1, 2011 11:00 AM
I have never had cause to type 'bittorent' into google, but I do notice that it literally stops returning potential matches at 'bitt'. I doesn't even return 'bitter' etc. And @Thysce, unfortunately there does seem to be credible evidence that up to 98% of bit-torrenting is downloading of pirated software/music/movies. That's a pretty sizeable chunkof bit-torrenting usage.
btone
Feb 1, 2011 1:14 PM
bittorr...

Wikilea...

freedo...

WT...
Ace
Feb 1, 2011 2:00 PM
I tried a few others:
* 'incest' stops
* 'porn' stops
* 'murder' stops
* 'euthanasia' OK

Interesting, 'featherswoard', 'blackbeard' and 'bluebeard' - all prirating terms, all work OK.
KarL
Feb 2, 2011 4:23 PM
@grumpybug - Google accuse Bing of copying its search results.

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/246885,google-accuses-bing-of-copying-its-search-results.aspx

As they say, Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
So ban the gun.
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