http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/07/j...-orders-yo.htmlQUOTE
Google will have to turn over every record of every video watched by YouTube users, including users' names and IP addresses, to Viacom, which is suing Google for allowing clips of its copyright videos to appear on YouTube, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Viacom wants the data to prove that infringing material is more popular than user-created videos, which could be used to increase Google's liability if it is found guilty of contributory infringement.
Viacom filed suit against Google in March 2007, seeking more than $1 billion in damages for allowing users to upload clips of Viacom's copyright material. Google argues that the law provides a safe harbor for online services so long as they comply with copyright takedown requests.
Although Google argued that turning over the data would invade its users' privacy, the judge's ruling (.pdf) described that argument as "speculative" and ordered Google to turn over the logs on a set of four tera-byte hard drives.
The judge also turned Google's own defense of its data retention policies -- that IP addresses of computers aren't personally revealing in and of themselves, against it to justify the log dump.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has already reacted, calling the order a violation of the Video Privacy Protection act that "threatens to expose deeply private information."
The order also requires Google to turn over copies of all videos that it has taken down for any reason.
Viacom also requested YouTube's source code, the code for identifying repeat copyright infringement uploads, copies of all videos marked private, and Google's advertising database schema.
Those requests were denied in whole, except that Google will have to turn over data about how often each private video has been watched and by how many persons.
Pretty ridiculous. Actually insane.
Every video ever watched on youtube and who watched it (by IP Addresses). I feel my rights are being infringed as we speak.
And if you think an ip address means nothing I remind you when AOL released search results paired with ip addresses a couple years ago saying they could never be tracked down and within a week there were multiple peopel who had been found via just those results. I know the files won't be plastered onto the internet like AOL's but nonetheless, once they leave Google's infrastructure they are open to alot more intrusions than before.
just found this magnificent comment on wired :
QUOTE
But Viacom said that internet viewing of television shows was merely promotional! That's why they didn't want to pay the writers!
3 Jul, 2008 - 08:30 AM
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