Google and the Motion Picture Association of America are not on good terms right now after an executive from the search engine giant accused the group of trying to attack the company with a coordinated campaign aimed at blocking piracy websites and "censoring" the Internet.
The campaign was discovered after leaked documents revealed that Sony and other media companies were working on anti-piracy regulations with the goal of passing them outside the conventional legal system, according to Newsweek.
"We are deeply concerned about recent reports that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) led a secret, coordinated campaign to revive the failed SOPA legislation through other means," Kent Walker, senior vice president and general counsel of Google, wrote in a blog post Thursday.
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) was introduced in 2011 and would have required search engines to remove links to piracy sites, but protests from Google and many others led to the bill's termination, Variety reported.
Walker alleged that the MPAA teamed up with six studios earlier this year with the intent of lobbying state attorneys general in order to bring SOPA back.
The Sony Pictures hack, started by a group calling itself the "Guardians of Peace," has resulted in several issues for the studio, such as the canceling of the theatrical and digital release of "The Interview," the leak of SPE salaries, personal information about employees and internal studio financial documents. At least five Sony films were released on piracy sites.
The MPAA responded to Google's accusation, claiming that the company was supporting criminal activities, Newsweek reported. The group said "Google's effort to position itself as a defender of free speech is shameful," adding that "freedom of speech should never be used as a shield for unlawful activities and the internet is not a license to steal."
The leaked documents also revealed that Sony is trying to organize legal cases against Google for supporting piracy
Walker said the hacked emails showed that the movie studios "budgeted $500,000 a year" to provide legal support for the fight against Google and that MPAA sought up to $1.175 million for the campaign, Variety reported. He also pointed out that one of the goals of the MPAA when it was formed was "to promote and defend the First Amendment and artists' right to free expression."
"Why, then, is it trying to secretly censor the Internet?" Walker wrote.
