[btown]

So then if Google happens to index and show a link to 3rd party content, it's also finding the links itself, and is similarly liable?

[tptacek]

If Google becomes aware of such a link, for any reason, it is obliged by law to deindex.

[MichaelGG]

How is Google supposed to determine copyright status of arbitrary sites/"links"?

[tptacek]

It is not obligated to do that.

[MichaelGG]

So what is "becomes aware of a link"? How is that different than the copyright holder sending a notice? Because without the copyright holder (and even courts) it's not very clear.

[tptacek]

ANYBODY could make them aware, not just the rightsholder. That's what happened with Mega: users complained about the quality of Dexter videos.

[wglb]

A rightsholder would notify them.

[blauwbilgorgel]

I am not a lawyer. I believe Google is exempt because it indexes all links it can find. It needs this to operate a general purpose search engine. As soon as Google became a specialized torrent search engine they could be similarly liable. Also Google has to comply with legit DMCA requests or they still risk being liable.

[wehadfun]

Yes but Google has plenty of money so it is ok.

[bluecalm]

I think better analogy is Bing video search. Not only it finds links but also plays it without visiting a page the video is actually hosted on.