Google's new policy allows rightsholders to dictate search results.

Today, Google announced that it would use copyright takedown notices made under the DMCA1 as what it calls a "signal” on search results. Specifically, those "signals" will demote certain websites in search results.

We wish we had some more details to illustrate just what that means, but unfortunately the process is pretty opaque. What we know: sites that have a “high number of removal notices” of takedown notices that result in actual takedowns will show up lower in some search results, though they will not be removed. What we don’t know: what is a “high number”? How does Google plan to make these determinations? Oh, and one other thing we do know, one that is particularly troubling: there will be no process or recourse for sites who have been demoted. 

In particular, we worry about the false positives problem. For example, we’ve seen the government wrongly target sites that actually have a right to post the allegedly infringing material in question or otherwise legally display content. In short, without details on how Google’s process works, we have no reason to believe they won’t make similar, over-inclusive mistakes, dropping lawful, relevant speech lower in its search results without recourse for the speakers. 

Takedown requests are nothing more than accusations of copyright infringement. No court or other umpire confirms that the accusations are valid (although copyright owners can be liable for bad-faith accusations). Demoting search results – effectively telling the searcher that these are not the websites you’re looking for – based on accusations alone gives copyright owners one more bit of control over what we see, hear, and read.

Of course, Google is not seizing domain names, as the government does. And it’s not removing sites from its search results altogether at copyright owners’ request, as SOPA would have required. To its credit, Google says that it will respect counter-notices, and won’t demote results based on takedowns that are rightfully disputed.  But this is little comfort. Google’s opaque policies not only threaten lawful sites, but they undermine our confidence in its search results.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/08/googles-opaque-new-policy-lets-rightsholders-dictate-search-results

Google Gives big content an olive branch in search algorithm change. 
Google will begin altering its search algorithm this week to lower search rankings of sites with “high numbers” of copyright-infringement removal notices.

Google is mum on the details of the plan, which some digital rights groups like Public Knowledge suggest is “setting up a process that can be abused” because “entities with questionable copyright claims might be more willing to send” takedown notices to Google.

The search giant’s move looks to be designed to head off potential legislation giving the Justice Department the power to seek court orders requiring search engines like Google include in search results websites the government declares to be rogue. Such a feature was included in the Stop Online Piracy Act, which was defeated for altogether different reasons in January because the package also included tinkering with the (DNS) domain name system.

What’s more, Google’s newly added “signal” to its closely held search algorithm shows that the company has grown beyond just being a search giant. It’s also a giant media company, and its newly redesigned Android marketplace, now called Google Play, underscores that. The storefront sells music, books, magazines, movies and TV shows, featuring them more prominently than “Android apps”.

Google, it makes no sense for it to highly rank pirate sites to the detriment of its own business model and the companies it needs to strike content deals with — especially given a Congress that is all too willing to adopt even more Draconian anti-piracy measures. That’s all to the backdrop of the popularity of the Nexus 7 Android tablet, content deals for YouTube, the redesign of Google TV, and the forthcoming Nexus Q — all gateways to digital media stores and Big Content.

The major broadcasters, ABC, NBC, and CBS, all block their websites from being streamed on the Google TV set-top box — so perhaps Google’s new search algorithm is another example of Google offering Big Content an olive branch.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/google-search-rankings/