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In this context, there are two problems with US law. One is that judges are allowed far less discretion than in the UK (for example). This means that if they do not interpret the law precisely as it stands, they are setting precedents. That's the second problem. Not least because doing so often results in their decisions being overturned on appeal, most judges are unwilling to do so.
I'm only guessing that Google was targeted a) because it has deep pockets and/or b) because winning against Google would have had a significant impact on the likely outcome of future cases. Both true, but in view of what I wrote above, also a poor choice.
Google is a search engine on a massive scale. Its operators cannot fail to be aware that its spiders do pull in sites which include stolen content, but those are not its sole target and while when included, their presence in the index is monetized just as are fully legitimate entries, no-one reasonably imagines this is anything other than a consequence of the existence of such sites on the internet. This is a very different situation from that of the type of site knowingly based (almost) entirely on the use of stolen content.
The applicable laws on which abuses can be addressed are primarily breach of copyright (which may mean addressing fair use laws as it did in this instance, or laws providing protection to those who run "interactive" sites). Then you hit the problem that laws will almost always lag behind current technology and/or the imagination of those who seek loopholes.
Eventually the laws will catch up. Lawmakers don't like being made to look fools by having their own laws used against them and they are susceptible to pressure from industry. I don't see that pressure coming from online porn, but other branches of entertainment are affected too and they do have clout and are willing to use it.
It will probably take several years, but I'm sure we shall get easier solutions in the case of torrent sites and the like. Then hopefully, not only the site operators, but all those involved in monetizing stolen content will be subject to penalties. However I don't see something like Google being included.
Unless you outlaw search engine spiders or find some way to mark legitimate - and only legitimate - content, spiders are going to collect the bad with the good. And while some people are hiding behind onerous requirements to specifically identify and locate stolen content, imagine the potential for abuse, if someone like Google began removing links on someone's say-so.
Of course, there are also the "in-between" cases such as YouTube. Such sites are not built entirely on the basis of stolen content, but it would be hard to believe their operators are unaware of the extra appeal which the abuse of copyright laws adds to their sites. They must fall foul of the law eventually, because while they might claim that they cannot ban "The Beatles" - for example - because some users may want to upload homemade clips about that group, it would be easy to demonstrate that the vast majority of their Beatles' clips are copyrighted material being used without permission. At the very least they are going to end up with "due diligence" requirements, rather than being allowed to place the onus on copyright holders.
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