Premier League, BBC, and Sky Demand Stricter Regulations to Combat Google Search Piracy

• Stricter policies are requested to tackle piracy in response to the U.K. Digital Markets Competition Regime.
• A joint letter from the Premier League, BBC, and Sky claims that Google's online piracy measures are not sufficient.
• The letter suggests a KYC framework for advertisers to prevent pirated content from being monetized.

The BBC, Premier League, and Sky push for tougher anti-piracy measures as part of an ongoing investigation into Google by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), claiming Google's current efforts fail to adequately mitigate online piracy.

The CMA, under the recently enacted U.K. Digital Markets Competition Regime, is investigating Google’s dominance in search services to ensure fair competition and consumer protection. 

While Google has implemented measures like demoting pirate sites with high takedown requests and removing domains from U.K. indexes after court-ordered blocks, rightsholders argue these steps are insufficient.  

Premier League and broadcasting giants BBC and Sky have submitted a joint response to the CMA that asked for stricter policies to tackle piracy. Their key recommendations include implementing a robust “Know Your Customer” (KYC) framework for advertisers to prevent pirated content from being monetized. 

They also propose adopting a transparent “repeat infringer” policy, which would result in terminating accounts consistently violating copyright regulations.

The rightsholders argue that Google’s current anti-piracy efforts still allow pirate services to remain accessible, demanding a proactive approach where Google removes infringing sites without the need for court orders.  

The stakeholders emphasize that stronger anti-piracy regulations would benefit content creators, enhance transparency, and establish trust in the digital advertising ecosystem. Adopting these measures aims to ensure fair competition, open consumer choices, and a reduction in the prevalence of piracy.

The CMA’s decision on the investigation and whether Google will be required to adopt stricter anti-piracy practices remain under discussion.  

Last year, Sky submitted a report to the European Commission stating that Cloudflare, Google, and Facebook facilitate piracy.