Google follows SOPA down the slippery slope of corporate censorship

[Commentary] When the citizens of the internet rallied against SOPA earlier this year, Google was among the prominent tech companies raising the banner of free speech against Congress' flawed anti-piracy bill. But in implementing changes to its search algorithm this week which lower the ranking of sites that receive too many copyright complaints, Google has imposed its own opaque system of copyright justice that's reminiscent of the despised, Hollywood-sponsored bill it once fought so adamantly against.

In a way, the new system seems to draw from one of the most dangerous aspects of SOPA: its attempt to combat piracy by allowing copyright owners to take direct action against alleged infringing sites. These "private rights of action" would have allowed rightsholders, for example a TV network or film studio, to have sites removed from search engine results, payment processors, and ad networks, leaving the accused infringers out in the cold before it was even determined whether or not the copyright claim was legitimate.