Jul 13, 2023 19:00:00

Android application 'NewPipe' that can play YouTube without advertisement disappears from Google's search results due to copyright deletion request

It has become clear that the official website of the free YouTube client '

NewPipe ' for Android, which has an ad hiding function, has been removed from Google search results in some areas. The reason for the deletion is said to be that a French music label applied for deletion under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

newpipe.net removed from Google search results due to DMCA take down request
https://newpipe.net/blog/pinned/announcement/newpipe-net-dmca-google-search/

NewPipe said in a July 7, 2023 blog post, ``As some of you may have already noticed, a Google search for 'NewPipe' will bring up a lot of information about the project, while the official website The link to is not displayed because Google received a DMCA takedown notice from the French record label 'Because Music'.This notice redirects our homepage 'newpipe.net' to our It is a request to remove it from the search list along with other domains that are completely unrelated to the project, ”he said, revealing that the official site is no longer displayed in Google search.

The impact of this issue varies by region. As a test, Google search results for 'NewPipe' are as follows. When searching from Japan, the official page was displayed at the top without any problems.

However, there are areas where this is not the case. For example,

Norwegian users and Slovenian users who commented on blog posts reported that the FAQ page appeared at the top instead of the NewPipe homepage. This means that Google searches for NewPipe in the European region tend to exclude the top page from the search results.

Also, Portuguese users will see '2 results have been removed from this page due to a complaint under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of the United States' when searching from their home country or Norway using a VPN. reporting.

Regarding the problem that the official site is not properly displayed in Google search, NewPipe said, ``The fact that Google does not post our page causes various problems.For example, visits to our site are no longer counted. This makes our site look less relevant, which can lead to users being scammed by fake clone sites disguised as our pages appearing at the top of search results. There is a possibility,' he expressed concern.

In fact, in the past, there was a problem that a fake site impersonating the official site of the popular image processing software 'GIMP' was displayed at the top of the search results.

An undistinguishable fake site is displayed at the top of Google search, a villainous method that makes all sites containing 'i' in the URL unreliable-GIGAZINE

NewPipe is considering legal action and is seeking assistance from attorneys familiar with such cases.

NewPipe wasn't the only company to receive a DMCA notice from French music label Because Music. If you search for 'Because Music' on Lumen, a site that collects DMCA applications, applications made by Because Music to Google are lined up.

According to a comment written in a thread on the social news site Hacker News dealing with this topic, the application is written in both English and French, and because Music specifically allows the download of content by a musician named Guizmo . It is considered a problem.

NewPipe has a download feature, so this may have been the reason for the DMCA filing. For the same reason, sites such as Ssyoutube , which provides download links for YouTube videos, were also subject to reporting.

Pointing this out, a Hacker News user said, ``Is it just in case someone in Mountain View (where Google is headquartered) speaks French better than English, or is it just a French joke? I don't know if this is the work of a group of amateurs hired by a French label, or if they actually pay legal experts to send spam like this. ' said.