Google has started to downrank the Pirate Bay website in its UK search engine results. The controversial BitTorrent site is no longer listed among the top results when users search for "pirate bay," independent of the user's location. For other search terms The Pirate Bay is still listed on top. A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the record.

For years entertainment industry groups have been demanding that Google does something about the “pirate sites” showing up in their search results.

The search engine is not doing enough to counter piracy they claim, and the groups suggest that Google shouldn’t index websites such as The Pirate Bay and isoHunt at all.

However, a recent change by Google will be cheered on by Hollywood and the major music labels. Tests by TorrentFreak show that the main Pirate Bay website is no longer listed when users search for “Pirate Bay” on Google’s .co.uk domain. The domain doesn’t appear in the top 100 results and beyond.

Below is a screenshot of the results. The downranking is not limited to user location, but to the local Google domain.

“Pirate Bay” .CO.UK results

The downranking currently appears only on the .co.uk domain. Users who search on Google.com or other local variants such as Australia, France and Italy still see the Pirate Bay website on top.

The image below shows the .com results. Both screenshots were taken while logged out and with a freshly installed browser.

“Pirate Bay” .COM results

While Google is clearly downranking The Pirate Bay website on its UK site, this seems to be limited to specific search terms. Popular keywords such as TPB and The Pirate Bay still list the main site on top.

TorrentFreak asked Google to respond to our findings, but a spokesperson said the company didn’t want to comment on the record.

One explanation could be that Google decided to “try out” the limited downranking because ISPs are ordered to block The Pirate Bay in the UK. However, as an anti-piracy measure it’s not very effective due to limited scope and the fact that Pirate Bay proxies now come out on top.

Regardless, Google is definitely pushing The Pirate Bay website down for one reason or another.

Coincidentally, this discovery comes two weeks after the RIAA urged Google to live up to its promise to downrank infringing search results.

“Research shows that users trust search engines like Google to lead them to legitimate sites when searching for music, yet Google’s demotion program is not working,” RIAA said after showing that “pirate sites” still outranked many legitimate services.

“We encourage Google to immediately make the necessary changes so its pledge becomes a reality, and we stand ready to work with Google in that endeavor,” they added.

Perhaps Google took up this suggestion?