Google Strengthens The Pirate (DMCA) Penalty Algorithm

Feb 22, 2022 - 7:51 am 6 by
Filed Under Google Updates

Google Pirate Algorithm Dmca

Google sent a document to the U.S. Copyright Office that explains how Google's DMCA update (aka the Pirate update) has been strengthened by (1) catching redirect schemes and (2) a site hit by this demotion on average sees a 89% drop in Google search traffic.

I spotted this via Glenn Gabe on Twitter via TorrentFreak.com. The PDF document was published on February 8, 2022 and Google wrote in that document:

"Demotion of Websites That Receive A Large Volume of Notices. We have developed a "demotion signal" for Google Search that causes sites for which we have received a large number of valid removal notices to appear much lower in search results. We have also made it much harder for infringing sites to evade demotion by redirecting people to a new domain. Finally, we have added a "still-in-theaters/prerelease" flag for DMCA notices involving this category of content to enhance the Search demotion signal. When a site is demoted, the traffic Google Search sends it drops, on average, by 89% on average."

Clearly Google is saying that the algorithm is a "demotion" signal that can reduce the traffic Google sends to that site on average 89% - that is a huge number. Plus, Google looks to see if sites use redirects from the infringing domain to a new domain to catch those players.

Google launched the Google DMCA update back in 2012, a decade ago, then in October 2014 it updated it and we have not heard much about it since. So now here is an update from Google on this DMCA update.

Here is Glenn's summary of this:

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: January 6, 2025

Jan 6, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Updates

January 2025 Google Local Ranking Update (Unconfirmed Bug)

Jan 6, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Discover Feed Showing More Sources For Stories Within Cards

Jan 6, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: URLs Provide Minimal Additional Signals For Search Engines

Jan 6, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Core Updates Do Not Impact Site Name Changes

Jan 6, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Blank Screenshot In Google Search Console URL Inspection Tool May Be Fine

Jan 6, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Bing Colorized Backgrounds For Search Ads & More