Seems like there's an awful lot of Google bashing (much of which by yours truly). Not that's it's not deserved, however... it's important to recognize the positive and productive early first steps by Google to clean up their act... So much of what they've previously said was "impossible" is now actually being implemented.

It's a start, and there will be much more of this as the writing is on the wall (red flag knowledge). Things happen when you work towards making them happen... none of the below happens without people pressuring Google to do the right thing. Sometimes, companies just need a nudge.

1) You can now take down 10,000 (yes 10,000) infringing links in a single dmca notice... let me say that again... 10,000 infringing links, delisted from Google search in just ONE dmca notice!

How to DMCA : Google Web Search, De-Listing Infringing Links

2) Google drops the ranking of sites dedicate to infringement... We'll be tracking this to see how much of this we can objectively measure, but... again, it's a start. This should be followed by eventually dropping bad actor sites from search entirely and pulling their ad networks from serving advertising to these sites as well!

Google to drop search rankings of sites with many takedown notices | Ars Technica

3) YouTube Content Management System allows for musicians, filmmakers and rights holders to preemptively block and/or monetize content on YouTube. Google understands you can't keep ripping off creators and then expect to be in business with them. They also know that User Generated Content has a glass ceiling they can't break through. So now they have to show up and play nice with Hollywood, artists and creators.

Protect creative work from piracy using Youtube Content ID | Vox Indie

Now these are three small steps, but they are having a big impact. Maybe not as big as some would like, but these first baby steps have started the course to proper respect for creators. These are the first tiny building blocks upon which many more cooperative policies and tools will be built.

So again, not on their side. But as Don Hills like's to say, they're not perfect. They can't get it wrong 100% of the time. Got to give credit where credit is due for the good work they have begun.

This is what happens when people work together for positive change. I can already here the screams of agony from the freehadist. But this has never had anything to do with free culture or free speech, it's always been about free money... and that's (slowly) coming to an end.

Not that I don't think Google is still Evil, but... now maybe only 97% Evil as opposed to 100%...

Awesome. Respect and resposibility

Sent from my DROIDX

Man, i do appreciate them working towards cleaning up their act... but damn, they did (and still do...) soo much damage.
My nod towards them is a tepid one..
... it's on them to prove that they are trustworthy.
Once trust is lost, it is something that isn't easy to get back.

As something likely to come out of George W. Bush : "Fool me once, shame on twice, fool me fool is once and again"

i do acknowledge their action though, but we'll see how committed they are in due time. They're just covering their arse atm, which probably means they're just stroking us again.

Nice

how about prosecuting googies for infringement on a massive scales and stopping putting the focus on dumb tweenis who dont know any better

I hear you, but the important thing to take away is that despite all the chest beating by the faithful and freehadists, Google actually IS changing it's policies and doing so publicly. This means there will be accountability and we have now started down the path of meaningful change.

So many people have wanted us to believe for years that Google could not, and would not change their policies. They often sited the misleading arguments about free speech, censorship and other free culture nonsense.

All along this has been about money. Google corporate advertising money. It turns out, as we have always known, this has just been about free money (as in free beer, not free speech).

It's also important to note, that Google can and does block many types of content from showing up both on YouTube and in search. When there are consequences, real consequences, like people losing money or going to jail consequences, than things change.

There have already been a few whistle blowers from within the Googleplex. Mostly temps treated as second class citizens assigned to jobs that are considered below the normal Google employee (Book Scanning and Filtering pr0n). I expect to see more of these stories surfacing.

Right now in Delaware, Google is attempting to settle a dispute with it's shareholders over the 500 Million Dollar non-prosecution agreement it paid last year to keep it's board of directors from being indicted.

The free culture arguments are being put to bed, and not by lawmakers in DC, but by Google themselves. This increasingly invalidates all the nonsense and disinformation because if Google recognizes these truths, so will everyone else have to as well.

I don't expect anything to happen fast, but if you look at 2012 alone there have been significant policy changes. As goes Google, so goes the web. And as more and more of these practices are revised the free culture advocates are being sold down the river... that's the price you pay for being a serf with blind faith.

Bottom Line, it's good news for artists, creators and rights holders.

RICO.

Red Flag Knowledge.

That's why these changes are happening, they're trying to get out in front of it before they are crushed by it. Google is not the first major, successful corporation to believe they were above the law.

Agreed