Google has changed the way torrenting sites like The Pirate Bay and Rarbg appear in its search results.

Until recently, users searching for phrases like 'best torrent sites' or 'torrent sites' were presented with a carousel of suggestions below the search bar - but the internet behemoth has now amended the way this is presented by making some tweaks to its algorithm.

The company confirmed to change to Next Web, saying its carousel display was never intended to be used in this way. The firm said all results were “generated algorithmically” and did not “reflect what [the company] had in mind for this feature”.

Tech giants are facing increasing pressure to crackdown on video piracy. Just last week, Facebook revealed it had purchased content rights management software capable of detecting when pirated videos and other content had been shared without permission.