UK govt to press Google to do more to block rogue sites

The U.K. government this week will press search-engine giant Google Inc. and other companies in the sector to do more to block copyright-infringing websites, the Financial Times reports Tuesday.

Citing extracts of a speech to be given Wednesday by U.K. Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the paper reported he will say that search engines, advertisers and credit-card companies should take "reasonable steps" to "make life more difficult" for sites that flout copyright.

It adds the government will legislate in a forthcoming Communications Bill to resolve the situation if no industry-led solution can be found.

"We intend to take measures to make it more and more difficult to access sites that deliberately facilitate infringement, misleading consumers and depriving creators of a fair reward for their creativity," Hunt is expected to tell the Royal Television Society's Cambridge Convention, according to the FT report.

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