In a stunning demonstration of automated stupidity HBO asks Google to censor HBO. TorrentFreak shares the details."Today, for example, we stumbled upon a DMCA notice sent on behalf of HBO in which Google was asked to remove 'infringing' links to ‘Eastbound and Down’ content in HBO’s very own store."

  • Aeron

    Orboros.

    • Boundegar

      Nonsense.  I’m not getting worried until HBO censors HBO’s censorship of HBO.

  • Alan Olsen

    Didn’t this happen in an episode of Max Headroom? Now if we can just get the censor to censor itself.

    • dculberson

      I picture an instant DDOS-level flood of automatically generated take-down notices and immediate counter-responses demanding that the take-down notices be taken down, and so on in a race condition.  The bandwidth and processing requirements very quickly scale towards infinity.  Then a hole into the A’th dimension opens up.  (A for a–hole.)

  • GawainLavers

    I hope Google responded with alacrity, shutting down the channel and deleting all content just to be safe.

    • oasisob1

      And forcing HBO to complete copyright education training.

  • TheOven

    It is my opinion that Google should  do exactly as they ask when it catches these kinds of self-immolating requests.

    • JonS

       I agree, and in these cases they should *ruthlessly* enforce the letter – rather than the spirit – of the law.

  • http://twitter.com/eclipticart Thü

    This is symptomatic for the entertainment industry. They have such a low IQ, they still don’t understand even a bit about the internet. Like CBS who would not allow me to see a teaser or others who wont sell me a download, both because of geographic restrictions. Okay, so I get it elsewhere. Censor Youtube clips? Its harassing people who make free advertisement for them. They don’t want to get free advertisement? So, why don’t we stop and never mention any of their products ever again! Lets see how the loss of that many millions in free advertisement will affect them.

    • mccrum

      This is even worse.  It’s HBO telling google to stop telling people about their HBO show.  They are literally paying to host their own content and advertise for it and then asking a third party to stop telling people about it.

      • l337n00b

        You mean asking the particular third party that the plurality of internet users would ask if they wanted to know about it.

      • Antinous / Moderator

        They’re job creators!

        Or is it jobsworths?

  • http://www.facebook.com/jorgen.fleisterman Jorgen Fleisterman

    Yo dawg I heard you like censorship in your HBO so we put some HBO in your censorship so now you can censor while you HBO!

  • Thad Boyd

    I trust that these willful infringers will receive the same treatment from the US Attorney’s Office as Aaron Swartz did.  Right?

  • That_Anonymous_Coward

    And just for fun… the company that generated this well verified list of infringing material on the HBO website… they are also the secret police handing out the strikes for the 6 Strikes program in the US.  Totally going to be okay, no question they know exactly what they are doing….

  • http://twitter.com/damienguard Damien Guard

    You’re assuming this was accidental. The reality is taking down results on Google lets you manipulate rankings. They may have wanted HBO’s ranking of their non-store page to rank higher.

  • timquinn

    it’s an internal squabble.