Google’s autocomplete blacklist has for some time stopped when terms like “torrent” or “rapidshare” were entered. Now a large number of popular torrent sharing sites have joined the blacklist as well.
Try searching for, say “thepiratebay” “isohunt” or “torrentreactor” and you’ll now find that Google won’t autocomplete the entry for you. It’s still possible to force the search by hitting return, but lower the odds that you might find a new torrent site by searching for it, as Google will no longer suggest it.
Update: Although as pointed out, it’s not consistent; it was definitely blocking within Australia last night, but isn’t doing so now.
What’s been seen in the past with searches that Google’s culled from its results is that the use of those terms drops sharply; in essence you’ve got to know that it’s there to find it. What do you reckon — is Google doing what it can to fight piracy, or engaging in rather subtle censorship? [Torrentfreak]
Image: Uncle Catherine