Google is arguing with American film lobby club MPAA

Google is angry with the MPAA, reports TorrentFreak. When the search giant announced that it would lower download sites in its search results, the MPAA reacted with skepticism, prompting Google to stop working with the lobbying club.

In the offending response, the American film lobbying club MPAA said it was “glad that Google acknowledges its role in facilitating stolen content via its search engine.”

Google was not happy with that response, TorrentFreak reports based on emails leaked during the recent Sony hack. In an October email to movie studios, including Sony Pictures, the MPAA said Google would no longer cooperate or consult with the movie lobbying club. The company would feel insulted, while doing more than legally necessary. Officially, Google only needs to remove links that infringe after a copyright holder reports it.

The MPAA is said to have reacted skeptically because it would not be able to assess in advance whether the measure would be effective, which it turned out to be the case. Also, the organization would not want to influence the ruling in a US lawsuit about Google’s role in fighting copyright infringement with an overly positive response.