The Motion Picture Association of America, the lobbying group that represents the U.S. film industry, has responded favorably to Google’s abrupt new policy of filtering websites accused of copyright infringement so that they appear lower in Google results when a user searches for them. As Michael O’Leary, Senior Executive Vice President for Global Policy and External Affairs of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA), said in a statement:
“We are optimistic that Google’s actions will help steer consumers to the myriad legitimate ways for them to access movies and TV shows online, and away from the rogue cyberlockers, peer-to-peer sites, and other outlaw enterprises that steal the hard work of creators across the globe. We will be watching this development closely – the devil is always in the details – and look forward to Google taking further steps to ensure that its services favor legitimate businesses and creators, not thieves.”
The MPAA was one of the major supporters of SOPA, also known as the Stop Online Piracy Act, a U.S. bill that would have forced Google and other search engines to remove links to websites accused of copyright infringement. After facing opposition from Google and Web user freedom advocacy groups, the bill did not pass.
