Tag: google search

Google Accused Of Copying Song Lyrics In Search Results

American search engine giant Google has been accused of copying song lyrics from the leading song lyrics website Genius. The latter has claimed in a report that it has been notifying Google about the plagiarism since the year 2017 but no action was taken since then. The lyrics were posted on the search results of the songs without necessary credit being given to the original publisher.

About the accusation

As mentioned above, Genius has claimed Google has lifted song lyrics from its website to display in search results. The evidence submitted by the plaintiff regarding the case was related to how the lyrics were drafted. Genius claims it knowingly used a combination of straight and curved apostrophes as a form of watermarking on its website. Interestingly, in a morse code form, the combination of the apostrophes spell out “Red Handed”; which is a fancy way of catching those who copy from its website, red handed. According to Genius, there are over a hundred cases where Google lyrics have also included the exact apostrophe sequence, confirming the plagiarism charges.

Also read: Huawei Patents Smartphone With Double Folding Display

Google, in a statement, has denied all the aforementioned claims by Genius. It has said that the company takes copyright very seriously and that it sources the lyrics from LyricFind; who is also a known name in song lyrics and major contributor on Google’s search results. While Genius’ case against Google is quite strong, it may not hold up well in court as it does not own the copyright of the lyrics in question. However, the former has claimed that the traffic on its website has decreased substantially ever since the latter started displaying lyrics in the search results. Google has started an investigation regarding the plagiarism claims and more details are awaited when the results of it are announced.

June 17, 2019
Google Has Made It Harder To Steal Images From Google Images

Google has updated its Google Image search which might have huge repercussions. The company took to Twitter to announce that it has removed the “view image” button from image search. Therefore, the company has made it difficult for people to save copyrighted images directly. The update might seem small but, it is a huge change in the grand scheme of things.

Today we're launching some changes on Google Images to help connect users and useful websites. This will include removing the View Image button. The Visit button remains, so users can see images in the context of the webpages they're on. pic.twitter.com/n76KUj4ioD

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) February 15, 2018

What Has Changed?

The company has essentially eliminated the “view image” button. This button was once the direct link to a high-resolution version of the image. This was a huge concern for photographers, publishers and stock image sites for obvious reasons. As this button essentially allowed users to access the original version of the image without visiting the source site.

Now, users will be able to visit the source site “visit” button. This means that in order to steal an image, the user will have to go to a source site which means an additional step. The timing of the move is worth noting here. In early-February, Getty Images announced a licensing partnership with Google.

Back in 2016, Getty Images filed a complaint against Google. It accused the company of anti-competitive practices within Google Images. It said that Google was “distorting search results in favour of its own services.” Therefore, users did not have an incentive to visit source stock websites likes Getty to download the original image.

Getting rid of the “view” button is definitely a significant move. However, whether this will curb copyright infringement or not is yet to be seen.

February 16, 2018
Siri Will Now Search Google For Answers Instead Of Bing

Apple is dropping Microsoft’s Bing as the default search platform for Siri, Search inside iOS, and Spotlight on Macs in favour of Google search.

According Apple. this move is to create a more “consistent web search experience” for its users, since Google is currently the default search engine on its Safari browser thanks to a reported $3 billion annual deal between the two companies. Bing, however, will continue to search for images for queries through Siri. A statement by Apple about the decision read:

Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these services to have a consistent web search experience with the default in Safari. We have strong relationships with Google and Microsoft and remain committed to delivering the best user experience possible.

Bing has been iOS’ default search engine since iOS 7 in 2013. Microsoft has since held on to this position but, it looks like the $3 billion deal between Apple and Google may have played a part in this decision swaying towards Google. However, this cannot be said for sure without knowing the terms of the deal. The new macOS High Sierra version has now rolled out for download and after the installation, Mac owners will observe that their Spotlight search will be powered by Google, and not Bing like it was before. iOS device owners should have the update, too.

The fact that image search on Siri will still show Bing results is a little odd but it looks like this feature will also be phased out of iOS in time and Google will become the sole search engine for all iOS and macOS devices.

September 26, 2017
Google Search to Get Faster and Cheaper on Indian 2G Network

Though fast wireless networks like 3G and 4G have hit certain parts of the world, emerging countries are still a victim of slow internet connectivity, which constitutes over half the globe. Tech powerhouses have understood the fact that their expansion lies in reaching that majority and providing them the best of their services. Today, Google has launched a slimmer version of Google Search called ‘Search Lite’ on Android phones that optimize web pages on slow 2G network.

The feature shows streamlined search results, and the pages load four times faster than with the original Google Search. Also, it consumes lesser data, saving your monthly pack to last for few more days. Google’s blog post by Product Manager Hiroto Tokusei reads –

If you’re in India, with an Android phone and on a slow connection, like 2G, you should start to see pages loading a whole lot faster, while using far less data, via your Chrome or Android browser from Google’s search results.

To accommodate users with faster loading on slow mobile connections, Search Lite transcodes web pages on the go. As per Hiroto, the new feature gets triggered when an Android user surfs something on Google on a slow 2G connection. Google makes out the connection speed and activates the Search Lite tool. The search biggie has tested the feature in Indonesia and is geared to bring it to Indians in another two weeks.

Google’s testing period showed more than 50% increase in web page traffic. The firm says that it would be extremely beneficial for publishers as the page views will encounter a jump. These faster-optimized pages help publishers and advertisers reach new audiences. Publishers can choose to optimize the page or reject the compressed format. There are other measures that Google is currently working on like Google Analysis for tracking page views, AdSense for ad support, and a few more.

Also, the Search Lite tool will be brought as an option and not as a compulsion. Users can choose to switch to the original page any time through the link provided at the bottom of the page. The feature will be arriving in India as well as Brazil in the coming weeks.

June 11, 2015
Here’s How Facebook Would Like to Replace Google

When browsing through mobile, it is quite a task to open a website, copying the link, switching between the apps and pasting it on your Facebook status bar. For many users, this is quite a cumbersome job. According to TechCrunch, to change the experiences for its mobile users, Facebook is working on an internal test search engine for its mobile app.

TechCrunch spotted that a few iOS users saw a new ‘Add a Link’ button next to buttons that we use to add photos, location and feelings. Upon writing down a word in the search engine, a list of related and matching links shows up that can be shared to your wall along with a caption. Using this feature, users will be able to bypass search engine while searching for content and give the social media giant a rich data of analytics of the type of content being explored and shared in a series of detailed statistics.

This move by Facebook may throw a hard brick on Google. On the other hand, Google has also allowed users to order food from its search results and add tweets. Apple, too, mentioned about the AppleBot on its support page, indicating an all-new Apple Search on Safari and other search related apps on iOS and OSX environment. This may set up an entirely new bar for search engines.

There are no words when this feature will roll out for the rest of its mobile users. For now, only a handful of iOS users has access to this new tool.

May 11, 2015
Google Search Results Will Soon Include a List of Relevant Apps to Download

Google, as we all know, is a powerful search engine which has given us the power of endless knowledge on our fingertips. Yesterday, it introduced a super useful new tool called ‘Find My Phone’ which helps locate missing Android smartphones and today, it revealed a feature that suggests apps based on your search.

Through the newly developed feature called App Indexing, users will come across more relevant content on the web, along with applications notification on your Search page. That means, besides other results that usually pop up on your screen, applications suggestion relevant to your search will also be made available on your handset.

For example, if you type ‘Give me instructions to make perfect tea’ then a list of standard search results together with applications recommendations will appear before you. The application suggestions will come with an Install button that will take the users to the App Store for installation. Once installed, the app will take you straight on to the required content within it. The service will start for Android users sometime next week.

The App Indexing program is beneficial to developers and users alike. Users can get app suggestions without browsing through millions of apps on Play Store and for developers, it will make their apps more discoverable. The app makers just need to implement the App Indexing API onto their applications.

Developers can get more information on the App Indexing API here.

April 17, 2015
To Gain A Wider Audience, Twitter to Show Tweets on Google Search

Twitter, the tool that lets people unleash the smart-ass within them has been phenomenally successful with the who’s who of the pop culture. Folks from varied fields such as politicians, actors, intellectuals and even the common man come together on the platform to have an equitable discussion on varied topics. But this great tool has been a bit slow in gathering new users and so they have now joined hands with Google to further their reach.

Twitter and Google have signed an agreement through which Google will show tweets of Twitter users in its search results. Twitter previously had this arrangement with Google between 2009 and 2011, but it lapsed. With this new agreement instead of just the Twitter profile of a person, you would be able to see their tweets right from the google search engine itself. This will be beneficial for Google too as people would find it easier to see the latest tweets without logging into twitter.

Twitter currently has 284 Million users that is way lower in comparison to Facebook’s 1.4 Billion and Instagram’s 300 Million. The microblogging site had released its IPO in 2013, over the last year the stocks have dropped by 37 percent because of slowing user growth. With the agreement, Twitter might hope to engage folks who just view the tweets and don’t actually reply to them or those who don’t tweet on their own. Twitter had also previously launched a ‘While You Were Away’ feature on iOS that shows a snapshot of popular tweets that the user missed when they were not logged in. It will be interesting to see what kind of effects these initiatives have on user base of Twitter.

February 5, 2015
Google Brings Mortgage Calculator into Search for Quick Calculations

Google today launched a new feature that will help new homeowners make quick calculations of their mortgage amount. The internet search giant has added a mortgage calculator in the Google Search that will allow users to adjust interests and check which financial options fit their needs. The option works on both desktop and mobile.

According to the company, users can ask Google questions like “How much can I borrow at $200 a month?” or “At 5% APR how much can I borrow over 10 years?” and Google will answer them instantly, eliminating the need to jump to another website. The company says that users can even adjust the mortgage amount, interest rate, mortgage period and can choose other options that match your interest. You can even take advice if needed. The new feature seems handy and useful.

Along with total mortgage amount, one can also check the monthly payments for the mortgage amount. Meanwhile, this service is only available for UK-based users and there is no information when is it going to launch in other countries.

This small feature eliminates the need to recheck the amount with middlemen. Once again, Google making our lives a little simpler.

February 4, 2015
Google Brings Out a Fast and Easy Flight Search Tool in India

Google has entered the Indian airline booking industry with its Google Flight Search which it launched yesterday. Internet giant’s new flight search tool allows users to search for flights, their prices, timings, etc directly within the search engine.

The new feature from the search giant, reduces the need for users to check out different online travel aggregators. These aggregators provide flight information and take a cut on the tickets they sell. Google’s presence in this space could reduce traffic to their portals.

Head over to www.google.co.in/flights to check it out now

Along with this, the company has partnered with Goibibo to display results from its own portal along with options thrown in by Google search from airline websites, when a user keys in requirements such as destination and travel date.

The service has been available to other markets since its launch in the US in 2011. In India, Google has been testing the waters for some time now. Previously online travel agents had threatened to lodge a complaint with the Competition Commission of India against the tool.

Despite Google’s strength in web searches, the success of flights and hotel search products is dependent not only integration with key airlines and intermediaries in the country but, most importantly, displaying competitive fares and supporting multiple customization.

Google Launches a Super Easy Tool to Help Search for Flights in India

January 14, 2015
European Parliament Overwhelmingly Supports Breaking Up Google

It was reported earlier that the European Parliament was considering a draft proposal to break the search and other businesses of search engines. This proposal was put on vote, and it has received overwhelming support. It is important to know that the resolution is non-binding on any party, but it now puts pressure on the European Commission to introduce regulations on search engines.

Although the resolution doesn’t name a specific search engine, but it’s easily assumable that the target is Google. The company enjoys a comfortable hold on the market with a 90% market share. It spooks the legislators that an American company forms such a monopoly in the continent. There are multiple business malpractice allegations against Google too. The allegations have led to anti-trust investigations against the company. One of the major reasons for this proactive crackdown of Google is the privacy concerns.

The resolution received 384 votes in favour of the motion and 174 against it. Andreas Schwab, the German Conservative Lawmaker and co-sponsor of the bill said that this is a clear sign for the European Commission to prevent monopolies and create a level playing field for the companies.

France and Germany have even called for review of the competition rules of the EU so as to enhance the accountability on global internet companies. They intend to make it easier for governments to target these companies.

Google has yet not commented on the issue. The vote count is definitely going to get the balls rolling in Google’s defense team. The case matters because it is questioning one of the basic and most essential components of the internet, the search. They are seriously considering regulations for the internet. It won’t be an easy task as Google is now literally the gateway to the internet and most of its ‘intuitions’ comes from integrating search with its other service. It will be interesting to see where this path takes us and the information superhighway.

November 28, 2014
Google updates Search app for iOS with new voice search functionality
Never thought that day would come honestly, when Apple allows direct Siri replacements in Apps. The new Google Search App for iOS brings expanded voice search alongside the iPhone 5 compatibility.

While at first glance it seems quite responsive and does a good job of understanding the Indian accent. Download it for yourself and see if you like the UI refresh.

[quote]Improved Voice Search
- Simply say what you want and get results without typing.
- Faster and significantly improved voice recognition with text streamed on the fly.
- Get answers spoken directly back to you with web results tailored to your questions.
- Want to see types of questions that work well? Visit http://google.com/support/mobile/?p=gsa_voice.
Other Google Search app features
- Faster: get to search results faster than by searching from a browser
- Beautiful full-screen image search
- Swipe away webpages to quickly return to search results
- Search within a webpage using the built in text finder
- Google Goggles: Snap a photo of what you see to find more information about products, landmarks or famous paintings, and even solve Sudoku puzzles[/quote]
[iTunes]
October 31, 2012
US FTC Pushes Antitrust Suit Against Google

The Federal Trade Commission of the United States is raising the ante in its antitrust confrontation with Google with the commission staff preparing a recommendation that the government sue the search giant.

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the F.T.C., said the agency would decide whether to sue Google by the end of the year while Joaquín Almunia, competition commissioner for the European Union, said he was troubled by Google’s dominance.

The government’s escalating pursuit of Google is the most far-reaching antitrust investigation of a corporation since the landmark federal case against Microsoft in the late 1990s. The agency’s central focus is whether Google manipulates search results to favor its own products, and makes it harder for competitors and their products to appear prominently on a results page.

The staff recommendation is in a detailed draft memo of more than 100 pages that is being shared with the five F.T.C. commissioners, said two people briefed on the inquiry.

The memo is still being edited and changes could be made, but these are mostly fine-tuning and will not alter the broad conclusions reached after an inquiry that began more than a year ago, said these people, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified.

Google rivals specializing in travel, shopping and entertainment have accused Google, the world’s No. 1 search engine, of unfairly giving their web sites low quality rankings in search results to steer Internet users away from their websites and toward Google products that provide similar services.

Computer users are overwhelmingly more likely to click on the top results in any search. The low ranking often forces companies to buy more ads on Google to improve their visibility, one source said.

The agency also is examining whether the company is using its control of the Android mobile operating system to discourage smartphone and device makers from using rivals’ applications, two of the people said.

The FTC began making calls to high-tech companies to gather information for its probe in April 2011 and Google disclosed in June of that year that the FTC had begun a review of its business practices.

On the patent investigation, the agency is scrutinizing whether a strategy of seeking court orders to ban Apple Inc. and Microsoft from using mobile and video compression technology is anticompetitive, said the people.

Meanwhile, Google has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

October 15, 2012
Google changes its search formula to address piracy

Google says it will introduce changes to its search engine that will discourage piracy by placing legitimate copyrighted content higher in online queries.

The change was viewed as a concession to movie studios, music labels and television companies that have tried to lobby, cajole and, in some cases, sue Google into helping them shut down online piracy.

This week, the company will begin using algorithms that push potentially pirated material to a lower position in search results, it said in a blog posting on its website.

Entertainment companies have urged Google for years to make pirated content harder to find. The new system will use ”removal notices”, or complaints from entertainment companies, that a website has received in ranking search results, Amit Singhal, the senior vice-president for engineering, said. Hollywood applauded the move.

”We are optimistic that Google’s actions will help steer consumers to the myriad legitimate ways for them to access movies and TV shows online,” Michael O’Leary, a senior executive vice-president at the Motion Picture Association of America, said.

Lower rankings do not represent a conclusion that copyright has been violated, Mr Singhal wrote. The company received 4.3 million copyright removal notices in the past 30 days, he said.

August 11, 2012
Google Tests Showing Gmail Messages in Search Results

Google is creating an information bridge between its influential Internet search engine and its widely used Gmail service in its latest attempt to deliver more personal responses more quickly.

The experimental feature unveiled Wednesday will enable Google’s search engine to mine the correspondence stored within a user’s Gmail account for any data tied to a search request. For example, a query containing the word “Amazon” would pull emails with shipping information sent by the online retailer.

Such Gmail results will typically be shown to the right of the main results, though in some instances, the top of the search page will highlight an answer extracted directly from an email. For example, the request “my flight” will show specific airline information imported from Gmail. Something similar could eventually happen when searching for a restaurant reservation or tickets to a concert.

Although Google has a commanding lead in Internet search, it remains worried about the threat posed by social networking services such as Facebook Inc. As social networks have made it easier to share information online, the Web is starting to revolve more around people than the keywords and links that Google’s search engine.

Google has been trying to adapt by building more personal services and plugging them into its search engine.

Blending email information into general search results could raise privacy worries. Google is trying to mitigate that by showing Gmail results in a collapsed format that users must open to see the details. For now, users must sign up to participate.

Google Inc. ran into trouble over privacy in 2010 when it tapped the personal contact information within Gmail accounts to build a social networking service called Buzz. Google set up Buzz in a way that caused many users to inadvertently expose personal data from Gmail. An uproar culminated in a Federal Trade Commission settlement requiring the company to improve its privacy controls and undergo audits for 20 years.

Google is treading carefully as it hooks Gmail up to its Internet search engine. The new feature initially will be available to 1 million Gmail users who sign up at HTTP://G.CO/SEARCHTRIAL . That’s a small fraction of the more than 425 million Gmail accounts that have been set up since Google launched its free email service eight years ago to compete against the offerings from Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

After getting feedback from the test participants, Google hopes to give all Gmail users the option of plugging their accounts into the main search engine, according to Amit Singhal, a senior vice president for the company.

Singhal said Google is also willing to display information from other email service in its main search results. The gesture could avoid spurring additional complaints about Google abusing its position as the Internet’s search leader to favor its other services. That issue is the focal point of an antitrust investigation by antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe.

Microsoft said it has no plans to make information in its competing Web mail service available to Google’s search engine. Yahoo, which operates another Gmail rival, had no comment.

August 9, 2012
India ranks No.2 in Google search queries for education

India ranked second in the number of education queries on Google, the search engine major said today.

India was ranked 8th in 2008, and is now behind only to the US, reveals a study titled ‘Students on the web’ compiled by Google India. The study was compiled by combining Google search query patterns and an offline research conducted by TNS Australia on behalf of Google India

[quote]“With over 60 million Internet user population in India being in age group of 18-35, educational related search queries are exploding on Google. Our core objective behind compiling this study was to understand the impact Internet is having on this young population with regard to education related decision making by the students,” Google India Vice President and Managing Director Rajan Anandan said.[/quote]

Education related queries on Google in India are growing at over 46 per cent year on year that highlights strong demand for information on institutes and courses that are available in the country.

Out of all education related search queries on Google, over 40 per cent of queries were for higher education courses and institutes.

Search queries from mobile phones have considerably grown showing a growth of over 135 per cent and amounting to over 22 per cent of all education related search queries.

August 8, 2012