Google Custom Search Cuts uTorrent Off
Written by Ernesto on April 30, 2009The immensely popular BitTorrent client uTorrent recently added a Google powered torrent search engine to its website. This added search capability used Google’s custom search program and allowed visitors to search for .torrent files on Google. For reasons unknown, Google appears to be blocking the use of its search technology on the site.
With over 28 million active users a month, uTorrent has established itself as the client of choice for most BitTorrent users. In an attempt to bring in some much needed revenue, BitTorrent Inc. decided to add a search engine to its website using Google’s custom search program.
On the one hand this offers newcomers to BitTorrent a familiar interface to find all sorts of torrent files directly from the uTorrent homepage. The search engine uses Google’s search algorithms to find .torrent files on sites such as The Pirate Bay and isoHunt. BitTorrent Inc. profits from this through search based ads that Google adds to the search results.
This seems to be a win-win situation for everyone but for reasons unknown, Google no longer allows uTorrent to use the custom search program. When entering a keyword into the search box on the website the following error is returned (see picture). BitTorrent Inc. has now removed the search box but they have no clue why they have this problem with Google.
No Google search for uTorrent
Simon Morris, BitTorrent’s VP of Product Management told TorrentFreak that there is indeed a problem but that they yet have to find out the details. At this stage we can only guess at the reasoning behind the lack of functionality. Most BitTorrent sites are not allowed to serve Google ads because they link to copyrighted content, but since uTorrent was only linking to these sites indirectly through Google’s own search engine, this seems less likely.
Yet there are more BitTorrent oriented sites that have faced similar problems. The Pirate Google, another website that uses Google’s custom search had similar problems recently.
uTorrent’s search has been down for around 5 days now, so one could expect a technical issue to be resolved by now, but until we hear back from Google the actual cause is open to speculation. The net effect is the same though – uTorrent’s revenue from this source isn’t rising as planned.
Update: We heard from “The Pirate Google” admin that Google did indeed block inbound queries from his site. He found a temporary workaround but this proves that Google is actively blocking (these) torrent related sites. Don’t be evil?
Previously: Swedish Pirate Party Heading for EU Parliament
Next: Amazon Doesn’t Want to Sell Music to Pirates
65 Responses
Et tu Google?
Seems like neat functionality… too bad Google banned them.
Google saving their butts after TPB trial here?
I recently read this:
http://index.softarchive.net/google_says_its_not_the_pirate_bay.32317.html
Maybe there is some relation?
http://www.thepirategoogle.com/ is working.
“Don’t be evil?”
Google hasn’t sticking to that motto since 2005.
@ 4 didn’t think google was hosting in sweden?
NET NEUTRALITY, NOT NET NEUTER-ALITY GOD DAMN IT
Vortex working
http://v0rtex.appspot.com/
so is
http://www.torrenttab.com/
they both use google app engine
#4 lol?! same thing can be said about tpb
google logics 101
we index all formats
formats arent illegal
tpb indexes torrents
tpb is illegal :3
@9
Indeed, only Google Custom Search users seem to be affected.
Post #1 is latin for “You too, Google?”. It most likely comes from the famous line from the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, “Et tu, Bruté?”
Google is evil incarnate–it doesn’t take cutting off BT search queries to know that.
cant they mask the application with a firefox header … teach google a lesson they already know and most likely are waiting for
i guess since bittorrent.com is owned by the MPAA they wont be doing it. congratz everyone you just got suckered with MPAA self-serving hype
http://www.h33t.com where beer is free as in free beer
Well. It’s not like anyone would have needed this as finding torrents is very easy.
You can’t really blame the big G either. Sure they are covering themselves.
Does someone know how much Google is paying to host copyrighted material on YouTube?
i heard the big fat guys in the MAFIAA do it for a blow job. their wives sure as hell dont do it and beats paying for it
All big companies will eventually be evil it’s a narrow road that leads them to that path.
The problem I think it’s not what they do but the laws that permit them do it or scare them into doing it.
Copyright and patents anyone?
Maybe uTorrent could use a different user agent (e.g. Firefox or IE), which would trick Google.
[...] Don’t be evil? [...]
Google was always evil, Google IS the evil. From it’s beginning to its (can it be true?) end. ;)
I will be outraged if google keeps this up.. they have been awesome all these years and if they choose to turn against the internet.. the internet will turn against them.
DONT FUCK WITH US GOOGLE, WE WILL FUCK YOU BACK DOWN TO THE PIECE OF SHIT YOU STARTED AS.
We created you, we will end you.
hey my buddy and i were talking about this shit here. All you gotta do for a google powered torrent search is type inurl:.torrent and it will show you tons of shit. For example if you want the movie watchmen go to google, type, inurl:.torrent watchmen. BOOM there it is….
this is just a standard Google Custom Search error I run into almost every day using custom searches, including my own. This doesn’t mean anything is banned. It even seems connected to the brower used for the search as some people have reported to me.
@1 : You mean “Et toi, Google?” or “Es-tu Google?”
BitTorrent needs a decentralised option.
The internet is quickly being ruined.
We need to just plug everyone’s computers together with Ethernet cables – house to house.
so that’s where google take over every idea online and make a trillion in 1 website and lock everyone on their OS
not cool man not cool
@25: Congratulations, you just summed up the internet.
“All big companies will eventually be evil it’s a narrow road that leads them to that path.”
All big companies are under attack from all sides 24/7. Legal attack, cyber, hacker, propaganda from competitors, haters, crooked customers, cheaters, thieves, organized criminal gangs. Google lately has been accused by the record and movie industry lawyers of being the biggest torrent tracker.
There is talk of a possible lawsuit.
In the above comments, you can pick out the hater type easily. They are Microsoft/gamers. They hate Google because Microsoft hates Google. They see Google as standing in the way of total world computer domination by Microsoft, which is their dream. It’s a sick world, full of sick egoists.
Sorry but Torrents are illegal. And with regulators sniffing up Google’s butt, they realize they need to clean up their actions.
So. I wouldn’t get so mad at Google, as much as you should realize that Torrents aren’t legal.
If Google enables stealing. It makes Google look bad. See how piratebay just lost that court battle?
Well. Google probably heard they were next, or figured that they better save their own skin.
Sorry…but it’s the trust. (As least how I see it)
maybe utorrent should just sent standard http headers. dont add anything suspicous in the url field or the user agent.
> Sorry but Torrents are illegal.
This is by far the most idiotic sentence I’ve ever seen here.
@30 by Joshua Sciarrino – Refuge Design
“If Google enables stealing. It makes Google look bad.”
Surely thats happening already. Scroogle next? Please no.
“Sorry but Torrents are illegal.”
Isn’t that a lot like saying envelopes are illegal? Or emails, or CDs, DVDs, floppy disks… my portable hard drive… my ipod…my non-portable hard drive…
hopefully you see where I’m going with this; if torrents themselves are illegal, then a case can be made that every means of storing or transporting any form of information is illegal… and I hate to tell you this, but your brain stores information. I guess that means people are illegal…(and lord help you if you ever THINK about thinking about a song in your head, cause they will sue you soooo fast for listening to music you didnt pay to think about!)
sarcasm aside:
Information (the contents) can be illegal. The system of holding and moving information should not.
Just like the envelope is not responsible for it’s contents, torrents are not responsible for what we download.
“If Google enables stealing. It makes Google look bad.”
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=v15&q=how+to+unlock+master+locks&btnG=Search&meta=
Lol.
FLOOGLE?
Why should we be surprised? You only have to look to China and Googles attitude to web freedom there to see that Google doesn’t care much about freedom of choice.
@30
You must living in a cave or something. And “Sorry but Torrents are illegal” is the quote of the century. Somebody give this guy a medal and send him back to his cave.
i guess it sucks however its just as easy to go to google its self and put
yourfavouritemovie:torrent
‘Sorry but Torrents are illegal.’
Is there something illegal about downloading Linux distros with torrents?
Are u serious….Who searches google for torrents anyway…heheh…thats the first target for content with malware and torrents without proper seeders…GOOGLE search for torrents…People still DO that..heheh
…
only buttfags use fancy stuff like that
go google
Google! “Dont be evil”
They turned evil :(
Oh, common, this is easy!
Explain to me what the difference is between google and the pirate bay if this is allowed to work?
There is very little, and so it’s shut down to make sure google isn’t banned as well.
@30
!!!!retard detected!!!!
Custom searches people have created like http://thepirategoogle.com/ still seem to be working. In Vancouver isoHunt owner Gary Fung is asking courts to rule his site legal. I talked to him this week and posted about it in a story and on my Digital Life blog.
Have asked Google about the blocking and expect I’ll be writing about its response.
Google should punish like piratebay.
If not then more than piratebay.
Funciona bien
—-
Work good.
The MPAA\RIAA obviously have some friends inside Google..
@47 – ThePirateGoogle is hosted in the United States… Not in Canada.. On a side note I hope Gary gets some good news.. I still wont use his site anymore though..
@26.. Aside from your joking around this is dangerous and not advised (possibly illegal).. Believe me you don’t want lightning to hit those cables outside..
Others have said it in different words. But the reason is actually pretty obvious. Google wants to distance itself from “other” Torrent tracking sites. Google is trying to pretend that it is not like them, so that it won’t get shut down as some of those sites have been.
> Sorry but Torrents are illegal.
This is by far the most idiotic sentence I’ve ever seen here.
Arslan
http://www.tech3d.net
Interesting. Couldn’t the fact that Google made this move, post TPB trial,, play in the favour of TPB crew, when they make their appeal?
Its just like PB said, Google is just as guilty as them if not more so. Now Google cover their ass, when the trial is over and no one is looking at them, if not more so.
This is all such good news for netzero and AOL. when its all said and done, i will be hookin back up to dial-up for $10. I can “look” at web sites on dial-up. The only reason I pay top-dollar is for dloading. piss off internet!!
I think the only reason (if) google is censoring, is that they dont want another one in the pile of lawsuits, this is simply buisness, and this is much cheaper than going to trial.
The only problem we have, as other techically knowing people already know, is that there is a huge difference between technology and breaking laws. That is, technology is just that, what people do with is isnt the creators fault. Guns ie. can be used to protect og to scare/kill it is up to the person using it.
Heres a fun thought, when have law ever beaten techonlogys development. Try making a law against driving, and then see if anyone actually follows it :)
Point being, that people like they decide what they use techonlogy for, decide what laws they follow and those they dont. Usually people dont follow stupid laws.
When a law gets in the way. Use technology to bypass it :)
I think the only reason (if) google is censoring, is that they dont want another one in the pile of lawsuits, this is simply buisness, and this is much cheaper than going to trial.
The only problem we have, as other techically knowing people already know, is that there is a huge difference between technology and breaking laws. That is, technology is just that, what people do with is isnt the creators fault. Guns ie. can be used to protect og to scare/kill it is up to the person using it.
Heres a fun thought, when have law ever beaten technologies development. Try making a law against driving, and then see if anyone actually follows it :)
Point being, that people like they decide what they use technology for, decide what laws they follow and those they dont. Usually people dont follow stupid laws.
When a law gets in the way. Use technology to bypass it :)
@30
Uhh, Torrents are bad, m’kay. Y’all shouldn’t use Torrents. ‘Cause they’re bad, m’kay….
Goddam, you dumb.
It’s because google wants nothing to do with it. Look what happend to TPB, they were pretty much like Google only for torrents, but Google do include torrents and they got even more indexed than TPB. They just want to stay under the radar so they dont get sued or anything.
They have ‘no clue” ? Err, duh, maybe it’s because Google don’t want to be promoting piracy? Duh! Wake up!
@58:
“Guns ie. can be used to protect og to scare/kill it is up to the person using it. … Try making a law against driving, and then see if anyone actually follows it :)”
Just for the sake of argument, but: 2.Speeding is still quite common (a law against ‘driving too fast’), and,
1.Protect(with gun) = scare/kill(with gun)
i mean look just go to a torrent website fluck Google pus$ys
Google is working with MPAA/RIAA to make torrent files look bad right now. Google needs help with its deal on orphan copyrighted books. MPAA/RIAA doesn’t want to take Google to court because they might lose. The judge was wrong to say torrent files are illegal and he may have broken the law in doing so. TPB should have atleast tried to work with the takedown notices, to be sure it was covered by the safe harbor, the judge may have been right about that, its grey law at best so the higher courts will decide. Piracy is wrong but some of these new laws are almost as bad. Super long term copyrights/patents are bad for the world, just look back at want Edison tried to do 100 years ago.
It’s the beginning of the end.
Google will first start censoring out individual requests, then more and more sites, clients, maybe even IP domains and complete filetypes or start a blackword/blacklist far beyond it’s current malware-warning-only scope.
The nazinet is coming, and it’s coming very, very fast.
Gee thanks big money/corporations/content raepw0nzers.
And after the censoring, we’ll go the next step, which is already in place in germany, and prosecute without assumption of prior innocence in realtime on simply TRYING TO ACCESS CONTENT that MIGHT be forbidden, as per the definition of those who choose what they want to be forbidden.
Oh Orwell, you were only off by 20ish years.
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