Google ordered to hand user data to Viacom
A U.S. judge’s order to Google Inc to turn over YouTube user data to Viacom Inc sparked an outcry on Thursday from privacy advocates in the midst of a legal showdown over video piracy. Viacom, owner of movie studio Paramount and MTV Networks, requested the information as part of its $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against the popular online video service and its deep-pocketed parent, Google. Judge Louis Stanton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Google on Tuesday to turn over as evidence a database with usernames of YouTube viewers, what videos they watched when, and users’ computer addresses.
Privacy activists from the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a blog post the order “threatens to expose deeply private information” and violated the Video Privacy Protection Act, a 1988 federal law passed after Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental habits were revealed. Representatives of both companies said they were looking to work out how to comply with the court order to share video data while ensuring personally identifiable information is secure. Viacom responded in a statement that it needs the data to demonstrate video piracy patterns that are the heart of its case against YouTube. But it sought to diffuse privacy fears, saying it had no interest in identifying individual users. You gotta be kidding me.
Source: Reuters
because of mp3’s?
Another one bites the dust!
Are you EPHING kidding me…???
They want $$$$$ which they are probably going to get…..
What does that have to do with the individual users?
LIKE WHAT THE EPH!!!
The Golden Age of the Internet is long gone =/
I Hate You Tube Anyway… What a waste of net space…
I cannot imagine the ripple this will cause across the http://WWW...
a friend of mine made a great point about this. Also i agree with “4. Skyline “.
This kinda crap sets a precedence for future actions. this kinda case will be used in reference to others like it. its really really sad news and outrageous all together.
Viacom now owns you.
Haha death to the internet.
I wouldn’t worry too much about this one. It’s a money-grabbing case by Viacom, privacy has nothing to do with it… they’re not going to start suing YouTube users just for watching videos. A sad story for viewers, though, as this will no doubt affect the content of YouTube drastically.
…yanno… ….it almost smells like a giant rat trap…
Viacom make kids toys don’t they? lol “Big brother is watching you”.
about time, there’s way too much copyright infringing going on, on the ‘tube.
more kittens, more memes, and more funkings vlogs is what i demand!
moar!
wtf? I thought if illegal video posted on sites like youtube all a company can do is request it to be removed. since when can someone sue a site like that because of illegal content a user posted?
Makes me wonder how sites like rapidshare or megaupload continue to grow lol.
Loss of business profits = sue someone else. It’s the american way of business, glad I’m Canadian!
LOL @ #10 - ORly…?
Holy f’ing hell!
Now this is some f’ed up crap right there. God I hate the American “justice”-system, whoever has enough money is above it and the people everywhere gets screwed… F U, you wankers and if I ever see or hear any of my information mentioned anywhere I’ll be sure to sue every little wanker on the states… even if it’s a losing case… goddamn I’m pissed.
edit: cleaned some dirty words
who’s next?
rapidshare and megaupload?
internet is collapsing
R.I.P. internet
haha “you gotta be kidding me”
@15 “ORly”
Think up that line yourself, did you?
But yes, really. If anyone was sued for viewing copyrighted clips on YouTube there would be a massive outcry; Viacom simply couldn’t get away with it. Uploaders of the clips is a different story. If you upload a copyrighted clip then you’ve not only broken copyright law but YouTube’s terms of service. They have every right to take action, although again this is unlikely. They’re going to go for Google here, people, that’s the company with billions of dollars to spare. They’re not going to target kids and teens for watching Nickelodeon clips online. Get some business sense, and common sense, too!
Googles motto of “Don’t be evil” means nothing anymore. This is not the first time they have been ordered to give out ‘our’ information and it will not be the last. Their intentions are irrelevant when it’s out of their control.
WTF IS THIS?
VIACOM, don’t you ever take our FREEDOM, or you will die like a pig!
@21
internet defence force, a$$emble!
I love seeing internet kiddies bitch about their freedom. Copyright laws exist for a reason. If we are LUCKY, they are bent so we can all enjoy free content. But if whoever created that content wants to sue the hell out of you for illegaly sharing it, then they have every right to do so.
I guess a site full of pirates couldn’t be expected to understand that concept. :/
SUCKAGE!..has just been had
you know viacom is starting to like the epitome of idiocy.
why not USE Youtube to make money instead of suing them out of existence?
I hate giant conglomerates like Viacom that try to run the world. I blame them for completely ruining MTV and turning it into what it is today. I loved MTV in the late 80’s and early 90’s but now I wish it didn’t exist at all. I wonder how far they will go to make youtube worse than it already is.
I’m surprised that the data they’re requesting isn’t who posted the illegal videos but all the users who WATCHED them!
When are the muppets that control these large Movie and Music companies going to realise they are personally responsible for “Piracey”, if they weren’t paying themselves, Movie & Music stars etc. so much, prices would come down, and more people would be able to afford to pay “full price”.
But surely, more to the point, I would want categorical proof from the “Fat Cats” that the people who had watched, listened to, or bought “Pirated” material would have paid the full price for the original, had they not had access to the “Pirate” copy.
If they can not provide that proof, then they can’t sue for loss of revenue, because if you never had it, and were never going to get it, it stands to reason, you can’t have lost it.
I rest my case Your Honour!
Basically, they should leave the internet alone, unless those being tracked down are Abusers, Murderers & Terrorists etc.
There are hundreds of smaller video sharing sites on the internet, most are not based in US. What’s the problem? YouTube is old anyways. Make room for new sites. This is healthy.
anyone willing to shot this judge cause this N77y3873ga don’t know anything about computers..
If a company can wrest this type of info out of one as strong as google legally it worries me about what type of info they’ll be able to get from ISPs, online mail servers (such as GMail), banks, ebay and the like …
Canadian: (http://www.webopedia.com/didyouknow/Internet/2004/music_downloading.asp and http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=558674)
Viacom becomes big bad beast (see Pres. Reagan deregulation campaign): (http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media/CommunCartel_Bagdikian.html)
Aside from all the legal and privacy issues, this is just bad P.R.
I’m amazed that big companies like Viacom still don’t “get it”, and are wasting so much time and money on hunting down small fry.
I watch pirated tv and movies, I’m happy to admit it. In Australia we are constantly shafted by studios, networks and distributors. If decent on demand services where available here, If I could watch the latest episode of Weeds when it airs in the U.S, or download a dvd quality of WALL E (instead of having to wait till SEPTEMBER) I would happily pay for it.
The times have changed, we live in a global community, and the technology is here now. Until the multi-national entertainment companies realize that, and develop innovative and cheap ways to provide content: piracy will continue to spread and evolve.
Viacom needs to stop sueing the people and start thinking on how to make money on it instead.
They can sue until year 3000, it will get them nowhere.
I cant even imagine how a huge company like that can be so dumb and think they are doing anyone any good with this.
#
ninja_cop
July 4th, 2008 | 01:41
about time, there’s way too much copyright infringing going on, on the ‘tube.
more kittens, more memes, and more funkings vlogs is what i demand!
moar!
isn’t downloading wares infringement as well… so whats next???
thank god for dailymotion
Maybe YouTube should give user information to the US government too in order to help them find terrorists.
They could get a list of all the people who see US-criticizing videos, and keep tabs on them with FISA.
Yay, privacy.
lol @ 16
companies still dont realise without the net, and all the free downloads.
1. i wouldnt watch 99% of the movies
2. i wouldnt know of 90% of the dance artists I like now.
if anything, it helps promote, if they sold DVD online for download for $2 id pay
viacom wants to rule the internet world. probably financed & funded by scientology!
i know this person on youtube he has uploaded the movie terminator 3 and some other person who has uploaded spiderman 1 2 and 3 and the superman movies.
They have a chance to get this money, so they try to get it.
If you could get it you wouldn’t try?
It’s business.
what about people uploading new episodes of power rangers. those users would get in trouble.
i sue my mother if i can get some money
ok not my mother, your mother
i’d question the knowledge of this judge as well. wonder what he/she thinks of the internet… probably just an old fart who never done anything in his low career and now wanted 10 mins of fame.
you got it, d1ck, now to the next one.
fart,
you are as smart as your nick, idiot.
that judge is probably on VIACOM’s take.
ubaga mgogo!
mgogo babaru!
mgo bogadu bede burhnsa beredezulu.
stupid viacom look at this
YouTube, citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, argues it doesn’t have to take down those clips until Viacom complains about each and every one.
Viacom says that’s bunk, and is joined in its lawsuit by the Premier League of England’s Football Association, which doesn’t like pro soccer highlights turning up on YouTube.
LOL @ 38
Surely this is an invasion of privacy? When I signed up to utube, I was never told that my viewing habits would be ‘tracked’ the the US government. Grow up Viacom !!! You’re acting like children. If anything the crappy quality vids on utube actually help advertise your product. Absolutely ridiculous that Viacom see’s utube as a threat, even more ridiculous is the fact that anyone with an accounts going to be spied on. The Courts surely should not allow this. What ‘liberty’ will be next?
@38
VIACOM is owned and founded buy a Jewish guy.
@38
VIACOM is owned and founded buy Jewish guys.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/biztech/07/03/youtubelawsuit.ap/index.html
Im tempted to contact google and tell them that if they pass on my viewing habits to US Gov/Viacom that i will sue them for breech of my privacy, i jus woner when 1000000 net users email that to em, wonder what they’ll think then.
As our viewings has no legal standing in any type of case, its like watching a movie at a video store when ya browsing… The only stuff usable for legal use from tube is the uploaders of coryrighted stuff and the terrorist propaganda writers/uploaders.
Im gonna send one to tube admin right now…!
Wonder what the reply will be?
That’s a decision based on error of law, I think. Just this ruling makes it very dangerous. These are still personal information! OMG what a f***ing country.
Btw, the judge is 81 years old!
Viacom FTW!!! w00t w00t w00t!!!
The harder they try, the more desperate they appear, the more determined the community will get. The golden years are yet to come.