Google and Bing voluntarily reduce visibility of copyright infringing websites in the United Kingdom

Google and Microsoft's Bing will voluntarily reduce the visibility of copyright infringing websites on the British version of their search engines. Links to such sites will no longer appear on the first page of the search results.

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The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Motion Picture Association have made a deal with Google and Bing. From the 1st of June this year the search engines will make pirated content harder to find. Websites of which the search engines frequently receive complaints about copyright infringement will no longer appear on the first page of the search results and the search engines also agreed to remove piracy related terms from the autocomplete lists of both search engines.

"Search engines play a vital role in helping consumers discover content online. Their relationship with our world leading creative industries needs to be collaborative. Consumers are increasingly heading online for music, films, e-books, and a wide variety of other content. It is essential that they are presented with links to legitimate websites and services, not provided with links to pirate sites", according to Jo Johnson, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation and who will also oversee the implementation of the deal.

Minister of State for Digital and Culture, Matt Hancock added, "as we build a more global Britain we want the UK to be the most innovative country to do business, and initiatives like this will ensure our creative and digital economies continue to thrive."

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