Google Removes ‘View Image’ Button, Solutions Already Found

Over the past few days, users of Google’s Image platform have noticed that they could no longer use the View Image button. This is apparently because of the search engine’s acquiescence of pressure from the media sharing companies complaining about image piracy, chief among which is Getty Images. As expected, however, solutions for getting around the issue are already circulating.

As TechTimes notes, the change caught users completely by surprise, not least of which because there was no announcement. This resulted in an avalanche of complaints directed at Google by angry surfers who didn’t know that the company was simply responding to the demands of some of its media partners. Google said as much in a message to users.

"For those asking, yes, these changes came about in part due to our settlement with Getty Images this week. They are designed to strike a balance between serving user needs and publisher concerns, both stakeholders we value," Google’s statement reads.

This debacle actually started last year when Getty Images filed a complaint to the European Commission over its images getting pirated. Apparently, much of it is the fault of Google allowing these illicit individuals to simply download the images via its View Image button. The media firm noted that this has resulted in a loss of revenue because users were supposed to pay a fee to see these images.

As is the way of the internet, however, people are already finding ways to get around the obstacle that Google has placed in their path. One of them is to download the “View Image” add-on that can be found in the Chrome web store.

The other option is to simply go to the search engine Startpage, which also offers similar services as Google, Lifehacker reports. On that search page, users can still view images of websites that have paywalls.