China shuts down pirate content linked search engine
Authorities in China are believed to have shut down a domestic Internet search engine, which was known to provide access to pirate content to the users.
Gougou. com, the site which was run by Chinese web firm Xunlei, was blacklisted by the US due to its links to the pirated content. The closure comes weeks after the website was added to the US Trade Representative's report on major copyright offenders.
Visitors to the site are greeted with the message in two languages informing them that the site has now been closed. The message on the site reads, "Gougou. com has been closed down. Thank you all for your support, and we are sorry for any inconvenience."
Xunlei had planned to get listed on a stock exchange in the US but had to cancel its plans due to pirated content on its Gougou search service and via its Xunlei P2P sharing platform. There are suggestions that the Xunlei is looking to comply with the regulations and closure of the site might be part of the company's efforts to clean up its business.
Gougou earlier allowed users to look for pirated movies, music, software, games, and e-books.