Google complicates downloading images from its platform

The "view image" button will disappear from the Google image search engine (LVD)

---

Google makes "see image" disappear to protect copyright
Source

GUILLERMINA TORRESI, Barcelona
17/02/2018 07:00 | Updated 17/02/2018 10:07
Article extracted and translated from : http://www.lavanguardia.com/tecnologia/20180217/44833464508/google-imagenes-elimina-ver-imagen-getty-derechos-autor.html

The most important search engine of all Internet has just made a very subtle change in the search for images, which will have great repercussions for copyright. The company announced this week that it will remove the "view image" button from its browser to make it more difficult to save copyrighted images.

The change will be to the right of where the images appear, instead of the "view image" option, a button will appear to visit the website where it appears. Copyrighted photos were a concern for photographers, editors and stock image sites as it allowed anyone to access the images without visiting the source and, on several occasions, at high resolution.

Google announces that the' visit' button will appear on the website where the image comes from (Twitter)
Source

This additional step aimed at making people less likely to steal copyrighted material arose because of a complaint filed by Getty in 2016, a stock imaging company, accusing Google of distorting search results in favor of its own services, creating a minor need to visit image storage sites such as Getty”.

Since that complaint, both companies decided to partner with a global license that allows Google to use Getty content. The latter asked the search platform to remove the "view image" button in order to be associated, which the platform has accessed, in fact, the change is already taking place.

Google explains through Twitter the changes to be made in the search engine images (Twitter)
Source

In Getty's announcement it is explained that "due to the fact that the consumption of Google images is immediate, once a high resolution and large format image is displayed, there is little impulse to see the image on the site from which it comes" (stock pages, photography blogs, personal websites, media...).

Although Google has not released an official statement, they have explained through Twitter the change, specifying that the "visit" button will help users and websites connect and people can see the image in real context.

Source: La Vanguardia