Google And Bing To Favor Legitimate Music And Movie Sites Over Pirated Ones In UK Accord

Piracy in music and music has always been a problem for those in the industry, with many companies pushing world governments and private entities to implement harsher measures against those participating in the practice. Recently, both Google and Microsoft have signed an agreement with UK groups to start suppressing websites with pirated content from reaching the first page of search results.

The agreement was made between the two tech giants and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), along with the Motion Picture Association, Ars Technica reports. The conditions surrounding the agreement was monitored by the country’s copyright watchdog as well, with several inputs from departments overseeing culture, sports, and media.

With this new development, all websites who have been found to host pirated content in the past and continue to persist will be pushed back from the first page whenever users search for music or movies. Instead, the users will be directed to websites that have legitimate copies of the media, and which will compensate the companies behind those media.

The agreement is meant to take effect on June 1st this year. Eager to head off any negative implications of the agreement, Google provided a statement to Ars Technica, basically saying that it has been fighting against piracy all along.

"Google has been an active partner for many years in the fight against piracy online," the statement goes. "We remain committed to tackling this issue and look forward to further partnership with rights holders."

Google will be closely monitored if it is complying with the voluntary agreement in the months to come, Telegraph reports. Depending on the outcome, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) could also push for more drastic measures that could result in sanctions, fines, or both. This is a landmark victory for the creative industries in Britain, which companies believe have been harmed financially by piracy.