SOPA debate triggers Rupert Murdoch's "piracy leader" accusation of Google

Topics: In The News

Rupert Murdoch, file

(Credit: AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

(CNET) - News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, a Twitter user for only the past several weeks, used the service to fire a barrage of accusations Saturday night against President Obama and Google.

He accused the White House of being in the employ of "Silicon Valley paymasters." Murdoch claimed Google was profiting from advertisements sold against pirated materials. He also called the search company a "piracy leader." (Read more about Murdoch's Twitter tirade here), reports CNET's Greg Sandoval.

In an email sent to CNET on Sunday afternoon, Google responded to Murdoch's statements.

"This is just nonsense," wrote a Google spokeswoman. "Last year we took down 5 million infringing Web pages from our search results and invested more than $60 million in the fight against bad ads...We fight pirates and counterfeiters every day."

Murdoch's Twitter blast against the president and Google was triggered when the White House raised concerns about antipiracy legislation being debated in Congress. The Stop Online Piracy Act (House of Representatives) and Protect IP Act (Senate) are backed by numerous media companies, including News Corp.

Supporters say the legislation is needed to protect them from overseas sites that trade in pirated materials but aren't bound by U.S. copyright law.

A growing list of opponents, including much of the tech sector, argues the bills would threaten free speech, due process, and innovation without offering any protection against piracy.

Google said it thinks there are better methods to fighting piracy than those sought by copyright owners: "We believe, like many other tech companies," Google wrote in its statement, "that the best way to stop [pirates] is through targeted legislation that would require ad networks and payment processors--like ours--to cut off sites dedicated to piracy or counterfeiting."

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by riorules January 18, 2012 8:04 AM EST: ...and this from the guy that hacked into thousands of mobile phones?; Reply to this comment

by blackroseMD1 January 17, 2012 3:24 PM EST

Rupert Murdoch is a doddering old fool. I'd be surprised if he even knew how to get to the Google homepage. He needs to just stick to running his [sarcasm]Fair and Balanced[/sarcasm] "News". Not to be ageist, but I think I'm going to trust the people who helped build and shape the internet more than I'm going to trust old rich bastards who can't keep up with the technology.

Hey, government, you want a bill to combat online piracy? Let Google, Facebook, et al write it, not a bunch of 60 and 70 year old men in Congress who don't even understand the terminology.

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by mecury69 January 18, 2012 5:12 PM EST: Nice post.


by Jill_Kennedy January 17, 2012 1:02 PM EST: Not a lot of defenders of Rupert Murdoch out there. He really knows how to be hated. It seems everything he does pisses somebody off. Here is one defender of Rupert - from a fellow media mogul.

http://mankabros.com/blogs/chairman/2011/07/18/in-defense-of-rupert-murdoch/; Reply to this comment


by wizardlady January 16, 2012 2:57 PM EST: STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! All you paid bloggers should realize that this is legislation to get Congress' foot in the door to ruin the internet, in general, for with this law, they would or could close down any site, without a hearing, for as long as they desire.

If most of the piracy takes place in overseas sites, and the US has no jurisdiction there, then common sense would tell you that control is needed here to break the actions.....CENSORSHIP. Is our government any less restrictive of its citizens than the communist countries who CONTROL their internet users?; Reply to this comment


by Ucvbn_Bjfyuvs January 16, 2012 2:52 PM EST: Rupert Murdoch is a senile old liar who can't even remember his own lies any more.
See how Fox News lies through its teeth every day. Watch 'OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism':
http://www.outfoxed.org/; Reply to this comment


by samXXkiley January 16, 2012 2:32 PM EST: coucou,

you are not in a position to accuse anyone, in the field of hacking you are a "master", Rupert Murdoch
"au revoir"; Reply to this comment


by funken_A January 16, 2012 2:31 PM EST: and why isn't this man in jail ?; Reply to this comment


by esq777 January 16, 2012 2:21 PM EST: This creep, who runs the biggest corporate cesspool on the planet, has zero moral authority to criticize other companies.; Reply to this comment


by levelheadedtoo January 16, 2012 1:48 PM EST: While Mr. Murdoch can order his Stooges at FoxNews to do as he says, it would be a cold day in hell when the GOP was influenced by NewsCorp. says Sarah Palin while talking to Mike Huckabee and Carl Rove.

If Obama wants privacy for American's then conservatives have to be against it. If Obama thinks privacy is a bad thing, the GOP has to be for it.; Reply to this comment


by MegaProcrastination January 16, 2012 1:01 PM EST: In my opinion it's a bit of irony (or perhaps even fate) that if congress had voted on this legislation before they recessed for Christmas it would have passed, but that break has given The Internet enough time to launch a much-needed counter-strike and the longer it goes on the less support SOPA and PIPA have.

Most who are against it have no problem with some type of law being put in place to curtail piracy, but these laws as they stand are completely unacceptable.; Reply to this comment