Against the AdSense TOS or not?

16 replies
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Is it against adsense TOS to put a link pointing to torrent site like piratebay.com ?

I think it's not because the link is to torrent site NOT the illegal torrent file.

Thanks
#adsense #tos
  • Profile picture of the author Tom Goodwin
    Originally Posted by Snowglass View Post

    Is it against adsense TOS to put a link pointing to torrent site like piratebay.com ?

    I think it's not because the link is to torrent site NOT the illegal torrent file.

    Thanks
    Don't confuse illegal with "google can do anything in the hell they want".

    I agree with you that it is not illegal per se. However, that being said, that sounds to me like something Google would not take kindly to.
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  • Profile picture of the author Erik Ortega
    Off the top of my head and don't quote me on this one but I believe AdSense TOS prohibits any sites that condone, aid, or promote illegal activities. An illegal torrent file would constitute this in my opinion.

    I wouldn't try to sneak by Google, they don't just ban your acct, I heard that they sometimes ban your IP address so it's goodbye adsense for you if they do that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Flyingpig7
    I have a feeling that this is against Google adsense TOS.

    They may regard it as a bad link relationship (from a bad neighbourhood) one they don't want their adsense advertisers complaining about. Google may put it in the same stable as porn sites, drugs, etc... and so on all against TOS

    Also do you really want to risk your account to find out!

    Keren
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    Have a great day

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  • Profile picture of the author tjcocker
    You all need to work on your critical reading skills. He's not talking about putting adsense ads directly on thepiratebay, he's talking about just putting a link on his site to them.

    While this does NOT violate TOS, it is a link from your site to a bad neighborhood, so you may get penalized as far as the ranking of your site goes.

    However, Google doesn't need our permission to follow its own TOS, so they may decide to ban you for any reason, and this could be an excuse for them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
      Refer here:
      Banned ... - AdSense Help

      The person in that thread only linked to file sharing websites, but not directly to illegal downloads on the site. He lost his adsense account. Now it is questionable whether or not they banned his adsense account based on those links or because he didn't have much content on his website...but I wouldn't risk your adsense account on it. Especially because years from now, you might really regret the decision to take that risk.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Originally Posted by tjcocker View Post

      You all need to work on your critical reading skills. He's not talking about putting adsense ads directly on thepiratebay, he's talking about just putting a link on his site to them.

      While this does NOT violate TOS, it is a link from your site to a bad neighborhood, so you may get penalized as far as the ranking of your site goes.

      However, Google doesn't need our permission to follow its own TOS, so they may decide to ban you for any reason, and this could be an excuse for them.
      Hi tjcocker,

      I disagree, see my post above where I cite "Sites with Google ads may not include or link to". They couldn't be any more explicit when they say "or link to". Perhaps you have a different understanding of that phrase, please clarify!
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      • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
        The funny thing about this is...Google owns Youtube right? And people upload pirated stuff to Youtube all the time. And if you look around you will find adsense on parts of Youtube...so it looks like one of Google's partners is violating their TOS.

        And even though Youtube does not condone the uploading of illegal content, it still happens...just like on other file sharing websites. I'm sure thepiratebay has a disclaimer somewhere that they do not condone uploading illegal content/products.
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      • Profile picture of the author tjcocker
        Originally Posted by dburk View Post

        Hi tjcocker,

        I disagree, see my post above where I cite "Sites with Google ads may not include or link to". They couldn't be any more explicit when they say "or link to". Perhaps you have a different understanding of that phrase, please clarify!
        Ahh, I must have been bleary eyed when I read that. You're totally right.
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        • Profile picture of the author paulgl
          The problem with posting questions that are of the
          "Is this against google TOS...."
          is that nobody here, I think, works for google.

          We can only guess. If you get a whole string of 100%
          yes answers to that question, you can probably take that
          as a yes. Maybe. The final decision is up to you. The problem
          is, we may all be wrong.

          My advice to anyone with "against TOS" question, is that if
          you are having second thoughts, then don't do it. Or at
          least get the REAL answer from google. Peruse their TOS,
          forums, and blogs. The answer is there somewhere.

          Just remember nobody here speaks for google. I have in the
          past quoted right from their website, however.

          Most of these threads morph into yes, no, yes, no, maybe....

          Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author NicheCowboy
    Originally Posted by Snowglass View Post

    Is it against adsense TOS to put a link pointing to torrent site like piratebay.com ?

    I think it's not because the link is to torrent site NOT the illegal torrent file.

    Thanks
    I wouldn't.
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  • Profile picture of the author CloudTap
    I would not risk linking to a site like this.

    also worth mentioning, I had a friend get a virus and need to format just from searching on the pirate bay.

    I'd not chance it for more than one reason.
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    • Profile picture of the author tjcocker
      Originally Posted by CloudTap View Post

      I would not risk linking to a site like this.

      also worth mentioning, I had a friend get a virus and need to format just from searching on the pirate bay.

      I'd not chance it for more than one reason.
      LOL.... just from searching?? What was he running, Windows 95 and IE? If you know anything about anti-virus protection you'll be perfectly fine. Get firefox, spybot, AVG, Malwarebytes, and noScript... all free.
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  • Profile picture of the author tdave
    How about not posting a hyperlink ? just pain test?
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Nash
    I would not recommend you to do that. Even if it might be easy traffic. It is not worth risking your AdSense account being banned.


    Regards,
    A.N
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    Learn from your mistakes. Experience is priceless.

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  • Profile picture of the author furiouz
    I would avoid doing that
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