Following reports in the last week about the number of URL takedown requests that Microsoft send to Google, the company has confirmed they are also directed to its own search engine.
Google revealed recently that Microsoft is the biggest submitter of removal requests, with in excess of 500,000 logged in April 2012 alone. However, many queried the justification, when it became apparent that requested removals were still appearing on Bing SERPS.
The reason given for the anomaly was given as an indexing one. A spokesman for the software giant said that the URLs had not been indexed in Bing at the time of the removal request. Only indexed links are verifiable.
This makes sense of course but, is not great advertising for Bing. Some say it shows quite categorically that Google’s processes for indexing URLs is far superior.
The publishing of links pointing to copyrighted material seems to be a growing problem. As a result, many SEO marketers and webmasters are calling for search engines and governments to take greater control.
The number of removal requests submitted on a monthly basis is huge. It is likely just the tip of the iceberg though. Further still, as soon as one link is removed, multiple copies will likely pop up in its place.
What will be done in the future is subject of much debate though. One argument suggests the individual companies are responsible for the protection of their own materials. Such is the vast nature of the problem though, many others argue it is simply unmanageable.
It is likely the arguments will go on for quite some time.