YouTube Blog: The Law and Your Privacy

Friday, July 4, 2008

The Law and Your Privacy

As you may have seen in the news, YouTube received a court order to produce viewing data from our database, including usernames and IP addresses. In order to protect our community's privacy, we strongly opposed this motion when Viacom and others filed it.

The court felt differently and ordered us to produce the data. Viacom said that they need general viewing information to determine the proportion of views on YouTube of copyright infringing content vs. non-infringing content.

Of course, we have to follow legal process. But since IP addresses and usernames aren't necessary to determine general viewing practices, our lawyers have asked their lawyers to let us remove that information before we hand over the data they're seeking. (You should know, IP addresses identify a computer, not the person using it. It's not possible to determine your identity solely based on your IP address. Rather, an IP address can reveal what geographic area you're connecting from, or which Internet service provider you're using.)

Why do we keep this information in the first place? It helps us personalize the YouTube experience, getting you closer to the videos you most want to watch. We have many features on the site that help users discover and share compelling content, and we're improving the video experience through recommendations, related videos, and personalized directories that help you find meaningful videos.

We'll continue to fight for your right to share and broadcast your work. The court did impose some encouraging limits -- they agreed with us that Viacom should not have access to private videos or our search technology. Also, the information we provide will be designated highly confidential under court order and only Viacom's outside counsel and experts will have access to it.

Legal matters aside, our focus remains on providing you with the best possible YouTube experience and we continue to be committed to protecting your privacy. Every day, millions of creative people from around the world are posting new, original content. You, our community, are creating the YouTube experience now and tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The YouTube Team

680 comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 680 Newer› Newest»

taragolden said...: thanks for the update.; July 4, 2008 9:35 AM
robintel said...: Well, Viacom sucks!

YouTube is an INTERNATIONAL site and they should NOT have access to data regarding INTERNATIONAL users since NONE of them is THEIR customer so, if Viacom provides no service whatsoever for me then they SHOULD NOT have access to MY data!; July 4, 2008 9:36 AM
quitbugginme said...: It's cute how you're clinging to your parent company's propaganda. You are well aware that IP addresses are personally identifiable information. None of these problems would exist if you had implemented sane data retention policies.

And why is there no word about you having to hand over millions of deleted videos to Viacom? Why did you keep millions of videos deleted by your users?

I hope that you get sued for every penny you're worth, if not by Viacom, then by the EU, whose laws your data warehousing practices continue to violate - as you are well aware. Destroying Google, or even destroying as little as YT, would be a quantum leap forward for the Internet as a whole.; July 4, 2008 10:01 AM
trevor813 said...: well interesting =); July 4, 2008 10:47 AM
gottes89 said...: thats only fuqqing bullshit viacom sucks, what do they want with our IP's they should make their own bullshit. YOUTUBE TEAM pls make a end of this shit.

THANKS; July 4, 2008 10:58 AM
jamakidnas said...: http://www.myezbread.com/; July 4, 2008 11:01 AM
hiddennook said...: This is definitely not cool.

Unless Viacom (and Google) want a million lawsuits over privacy violations, then they better consider dropping the IP address (plus usernames).

And before you think hiring a lawyer would be expensive, they should realize that there are plenty of organizations who would defend for free--and I'm not just talking about the ACLU.; July 4, 2008 11:44 AM
SCTV said...: Google should own up about keeping all the data from day 1 in the 1st place, if your acting in our interest, you should be deleting IP's after at least 3 month for each Video post.

I like the double moral used here, stop fooling the people, what happens if Governments abuse all that data?; July 4, 2008 11:49 AM
snipa4lyfe said...: Would never have happened if YouTube hadn't been purchased by Google...; July 4, 2008 12:19 PM
kuraruka said...: You would think that there would be more than 9 comments for something like this.; July 4, 2008 12:24 PM
Ninjai2525 said...: l smell a lawsuit; July 4, 2008 12:24 PM
TheOnlySkater said...: A ridiculous court order. First of all, the "amount of views compared to copyright infridged and non-infringed" is an absolute lie, its so the companies can actually identify whether certain people are watching other illegal content. If Youtube/Google was smart, they could redirect all incoming views to be displayed as the same IP, everyone would have the same one. And giving the access only to Viacom is ludicrous, if you are to reveal any information, everyone should have access to it. I say, if Viacom does somehow win, an appeal to supreme court over violation of privacy would probably succeed!; July 4, 2008 12:27 PM
EddyFragment said...: I support yuotube fully and consider the service to be an excellent one. I thank the youtube staff and owners for all their efforts with regard to my privacy and wish youtube the very best for the future.; July 4, 2008 12:27 PM
WardereWardere said...: I HATE VIACOM! All they want is more money. Thank you, YouTube Team! Keep fighting for us!; July 4, 2008 12:33 PM
EBBPaper said...: good luck against those c*nts; July 4, 2008 12:36 PM
EddyFragment said...: What a lovely bunch of angry defensive pocket pool players the users of this site appear to be . If the other comments here are anything to go by! How about showing some support for a site you(the users) are so entrenched in, worrying about your privacy. What about the right to free speech? What about art?; July 4, 2008 12:38 PM
crazyname450 said...: you tube all the way i mean how can viacom alone have access to such data . i find this to be ludicrous and if viacom can some how win against you tube wich i highly doubt for various reasons i think that every one of you tubes members could file a suit against viacom for privacy breatch; July 4, 2008 12:57 PM
geoffp123 said...: Just hold the hell on. No one is getting sued, yet.

Google runs ads on YouTube to generate revenue, and they are hosting copyrighted content. You play with fire, you may get burned.

Remove the content YouTurd, and remove my damned IP address.; July 4, 2008 12:58 PM
geoffp123 said...: Just hold the hell on. No one is getting sued, yet.

Google runs ads on YouTube to generate revenue, and they are hosting copyrighted content. You play with fire, you may get burned.

Remove the content YouTurd, and remove my damned IP address.; July 4, 2008 12:58 PM
LeonWestbrook said...: I'm sorry. This is so full of PR Newspeak its not even funny.

Are you going to release a statement saying that Viacom will agree to remove the IP addresses?; July 4, 2008 1:09 PM
W3Radio said...: In defending the capture and retention of IP addresses and user namee, the YouTube Team wrote "It helps us personalize the YouTube experience, getting you closer to the videos you most want to watch." Please allow us to opt-out of this part of the experience.; July 4, 2008 1:17 PM
KOHPelord said...: All Viacom needs is to know is how many times their content has been viewed. I'm willing to bet that a huge number of those views were from people who don't even have registered accounts. The username/IP information seems pointless to prove anything, since YouTube keeps view count statistics.; July 4, 2008 1:24 PM
Pavleshka said...: we need to make a petition; July 4, 2008 1:24 PM
quitbugginme said...: @EddyFragment
Google doesn't need support. As long as people say they "googled" something when they mean they seached for something online, they have all the support they will ever need.

Few weeks ago people applauded YouTube for the new "Insight" feature. It is based on the exact same data that is now sent on to Viacom. But people will still applaud YouTube for the next update to "Insight." It's easy to become an "angry defensive pocket pool player" if you watch all those happy-go-lucky naïves applaud Google when they are evil and still support them when the users are punished for it.; July 4, 2008 1:36 PM
KingofContradiction said...: I gots it! When the peple in balck siuts come to your door from your IP address, all you have to do is say "How was I supposed to know that it was illegial to watch YouTube videos!" Then grab your brand new gun you kept in hiding and bang!...; July 4, 2008 1:36 PM
wasserbrunner said...: sure are a lot of ignorant people commenting.

that judge is a butthead.
screw viacom.; July 4, 2008 1:48 PM
99xXTiffanyXx99 said...: It is redicolous to let the court know ALL our stuff. It is related to our privacy, they can't do it with that.; July 4, 2008 1:57 PM
kayyouman said...: this is BS.; July 4, 2008 2:03 PM
alphratz said...: (1) This is important enough it needs to be top and center on the main YouTube page, not buried bottom right in the What's New box. This is a lawsuit, not a product feature. Also it should be top-center on YouTube help, or at least "Viacom" should be searchable on YouTube help with the results being either this article or a link pointing right to it. It's not. If Google/YouTube really wants to ensure its users that Google/YouTube is working hard to defend their privacy, then this should be the first thing people see when using YouTube. And given that many people experience YouTube videos not from the YouTube site directly, but as embedded videos on other sites, if you really want to be loud and proud about Google/YouTube fighting for user privacy, there should be a notice incorporated into the embedded player, or at least a notice that appears at the end of watching a video, the same place where one currently sees the "embed" and "url" codes and related videos. Put it in the users' faces that Google/YouTube is acting on the Viacom lawsuit.

(2) Yes, the phrase "IP address" is mentioned in the Privacy Policy, which is legally incorporated in the Terms of Use as well, but this is not mentioned in the Viewing History page, nor is it mentioned when you clear your Viewing History, or on the help item "How do I clear my Viewing History?". Moreover, the Viewing History tab says, "These are your recently watched videos. We respect your privacy, and do not share this information with anyone. You can clear your history by clicking the 'Clear Viewing History' link at bottom." Given the fact that Google/YouTube is now turning over usage data, it seems these words are extremely misleading. The user is given the perception that they are in charge of what data Google/YouTube retains, whereas it seems now from the description above that Google/YouTube is keeping a second set of books on the viewing history data, to borrow an accounting metaphor. If there is specific viewing data that is being retained even though a user clears their Viewing History, the above-mentioned screens and features are entirely appropriate places for that disclosure to be made. It needs to be made clear to the user that the Viewing History is not Google/YouTube's internal record, and that the user is only manipulating or erasing their own personal record of their experience which Google/YouTube is maintaining separately for the user's convenience, but that even if the user deletes the "personal/convenience record", that Google/YouTube is still retaining Viewing History information for other purposes, as explained in the Privacy Policy. Yes, Google/YouTube is without doubt probably legally off the hook in not having to explain this, because every user has to abide by the Terms of Use and by reference the Privacy Policy. But the real danger to Google/YouTube isn't a class-action lawsuit of users vs. Google/YouTube, the real danger is a mass exodus of YouTube users who value their privacy and who decide to begin viewing and posting their videos on other video sites. Or that people quit using a YouTube login at all and just view anonymously or create "throwaway" YouTube accounts as-needed just for viewing a video at a time. Again, this is a reason for point #1 above of why this needs to be top-and-center, in-your-face of every YouTube user. It's important to disclose everything appropriately, and be open, with all information available in a top-center, in-your-face approach, or else people will simply avoid YouTube and go somewhere else. I would even go so far as to say that while YouTube definitely has been the main incubator for the concept of getting individually-created videos to the web, this lawsuit might be the defining moment in tech history where people look back and say, yep, that's when all the other competing video platforms took off, and YouTube slipped from being the definitive market leader, to just another outlet for releasing video to the internet.; July 4, 2008 2:16 PM
alphratz said...: (1) This is important enough it needs to be top and center on the main YouTube page, not buried bottom right in the What's New box. This is a lawsuit, not a product feature. Also it should be top-center on YouTube help, or at least "Viacom" should be searchable on YouTube help with the results being either this article or a link pointing right to it. It's not. If Google/YouTube really wants to ensure its users that Google/YouTube is working hard to defend their privacy, then this should be the first thing people see when using YouTube. And given that many people experience YouTube videos not from the YouTube site directly, but as embedded videos on other sites, if you really want to be loud and proud about Google/YouTube fighting for user privacy, there should be a notice incorporated into the embedded player, or at least a notice that appears at the end of watching a video, the same place where one currently sees the "embed" and "url" codes and related videos. Put it in the users' faces that Google/YouTube is acting on the Viacom lawsuit.

(2) Yes, the phrase "IP address" is mentioned in the Privacy Policy, which is legally incorporated in the Terms of Use as well, but this is not mentioned in the Viewing History page, nor is it mentioned when you clear your Viewing History, or on the help item "How do I clear my Viewing History?". Moreover, the Viewing History tab says, "These are your recently watched videos. We respect your privacy, and do not share this information with anyone. You can clear your history by clicking the 'Clear Viewing History' link at bottom." Given the fact that Google/YouTube is now turning over usage data, it seems these words are extremely misleading. The user is given the perception that they are in charge of what data Google/YouTube retains, whereas it seems now from the description above that Google/YouTube is keeping a second set of books on the viewing history data, to borrow an accounting metaphor. If there is specific viewing data that is being retained even though a user clears their Viewing History, the above-mentioned screens and features are entirely appropriate places for that disclosure to be made. It needs to be made clear to the user that the Viewing History is not Google/YouTube's internal record, and that the user is only manipulating or erasing their own personal record of their experience which Google/YouTube is maintaining separately for the user's convenience, but that even if the user deletes the "personal/convenience record", that Google/YouTube is still retaining Viewing History information for other purposes, as explained in the Privacy Policy. Yes, Google/YouTube is without doubt probably legally off the hook in not having to explain this, because every user has to abide by the Terms of Use and by reference the Privacy Policy. But the real danger to Google/YouTube isn't a class-action lawsuit of users vs. Google/YouTube, the real danger is a mass exodus of YouTube users who value their privacy and who decide to begin viewing and posting their videos on other video sites. Or that people quit using a YouTube login at all and just view anonymously or create "throwaway" YouTube accounts as-needed just for viewing a video at a time. Again, this is a reason for point #1 above of why this needs to be top-and-center, in-your-face of every YouTube user. It's important to disclose everything appropriately, and be open, with all information available in a top-center, in-your-face approach, or else people will simply avoid YouTube and go somewhere else. I would even go so far as to say that while YouTube definitely has been the main incubator for the concept of getting individually-created videos to the web, this lawsuit might be the defining moment in tech history where people look back and say, yep, that's when all the other competing video platforms took off, and YouTube slipped from being the definitive market leader, to just another outlet for releasing video to the internet.; July 4, 2008 2:16 PM
robertodawhouse said...: It's quite amusing actually. The justice system in the USA is already bad enough and now they are attempting to control the internet? The inputs and the outputs? The UK has the most surveillance cameras in the world and now the USA is trying to imitate them by trying to surveillance what we go on and view.

I'm certain that there must be some sort of privacy protection act to prevent people making IP addresses public, due to the high risk of hackings that can follow.

The country are trying to control the internet and it's never going to work. There are 1000s of websites which exploit children sexually and yet these guys are moaning about some stupid videos uploaded to Youtube.

These guys in black suits need to get a grip. Google is far too strong as a virtual empire to be taken down easily.; July 4, 2008 2:16 PM
robertodawhouse said...: And let me warn you now. If you give anything away, such as IP addresses, there's a possibility it will get stolen by some hacker and voila, viruses and worms galore!

Youtube, here's an idea. ENCRYPT your IP addresses in the future so when these republican morons want to see them, all they'll see is encoded data which will take weeks to decode!

That'll show 'em.; July 4, 2008 2:19 PM
robertodawhouse said...: And let me warn you now. If you give anything away, such as IP addresses, there's a possibility it will get stolen by some hacker and voila, viruses and worms galore!

Youtube, here's an idea. ENCRYPT your IP addresses in the future so when these republican morons want to see them, all they'll see is encoded data which will take weeks to decode!

That'll show 'em.; July 4, 2008 2:19 PM
Drummer24seven said...: In response to real6 that is an ignorant comment about Jews on your part. That said that judge (if it is true)should mind his own business and stop making this country a extremist conservative country by controlling the internet like this the govt cannot do this. It makes me sick.; July 4, 2008 2:52 PM
Drummer24seven said...: In response to real6 that is an ignorant comment about Jews on your part. That said that judge (if it is true)should mind his own business and stop making this country a extremist conservative country by controlling the internet like this the govt cannot do this. It makes me sick.; July 4, 2008 2:52 PM
floydbrno said...: Why do not they say something like:
"We on our site, your ad in your clips accepting. Otherwise, you have it in all our clips. So, let's talk about how much you pay for the ad. Otherwise, you can find and remove your copyrighted content at your own expense."; July 4, 2008 2:55 PM
floydbrno said...: Why do not they say something like:
"We on our site, your ad in your clips accepting. Otherwise, you have it in all our clips. So, let's talk about how much you pay for the ad. Otherwise, you can find and remove your copyrighted content at your own expense."; July 4, 2008 2:57 PM
Mattyboii14 said...: While I agree that viacom are just being complete screwballs I'm not too worried. There are millions of youtube users they are not going to look at each and everyones IP address and video history. But either way SCREW YOU VIACOM & JUDGE LOUIS STANTON!!!!!! the guy's in his 80s he probably doesn't even know what a fricken IP address is!; July 4, 2008 3:47 PM
Mattyboii14 said...: While I agree that viacom are just being complete screwballs I'm not too worried. There are millions of youtube users they are not going to look at each and everyones IP address and video history. But either way SCREW YOU VIACOM & JUDGE LOUIS STANTON!!!!!! the guy's in his 80s he probably doesn't even know what a fricken IP address is!; July 4, 2008 3:47 PM
alleykat4u said...: the hell with the judge unless he is willing to give up his info then he should shut the f@#k up if you tube posts it i will view it and if viacom and the judge dont like it they can kiss my a$$; July 4, 2008 4:09 PM
6Chizz9 said...: Isn't this against U.S constitutional law
and if not it's atleast against finnish law to give names and IP adresses to anyone who asks and because youtube has lots of people from other countries than USA and all countries have different privacy laws it should be impossible to let some stupid company get our personal information.
I just hope that this stupid bull$hit viacom realises just how mindless their actions are.; July 4, 2008 4:39 PM
SportySpice2279 said...: so basically, they will know any video that YOU have watched? and if an IP address identifies a computer, than wouldn't they be able to find out who you are?; July 4, 2008 4:46 PM
SportySpice2279 said...: so basically, they will know any video that YOU have watched? and if an IP address identifies a computer, than wouldn't they be able to find out who you are?; July 4, 2008 4:46 PM
SportySpice2279 said...: so basically, they will know any video that YOU have watched? and if an IP address identifies a computer, than wouldn't they be able to find out who you are?; July 4, 2008 4:48 PM
SportySpice2279 said...: so basically, they will know any video that YOU have watched? and if an IP address identifies a computer, than wouldn't they be able to find out who you are?; July 4, 2008 4:51 PM
SportySpice2279 said...: please help me : )

but also, they can find your IP address' longitude and latitude point from the exact location. so therefore, they would know where you live, and once they know that, it's not hard to get any other info; July 4, 2008 4:52 PM
DarkHuntress2005 said...: I have one question. Why didn't YouTube appeal this decision?

Wasn't this worth fighting for?; July 4, 2008 5:04 PM
BigAl109 said...: This case is utter bull. Puttin the copyrighted content on YouTube actually helps generate revenue for their company. For example, if someones see's an episode of Spongebob on YT, and says "Hey, that's pretty funny!", it will make them want to go out and find other episodes of the show. And I seriously doubt EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of Spongebob is on YouTube.

Even if Viacom doesnt aproove of that, wasn't YouTube supposed to be removing copyrighted content almost a year ago? I almost never see TV Shows or Movies on YouTube anymore.

I'm not really concerned for my privacy due to the fact there are millions of people who go to YouTube a day, and watch tons of videos. Identifying everyone that has watched even the littlest piece of copyrighted content would take months.

So Viacom, your wasting your time. Find something else to do with your little men in black suits.; July 4, 2008 5:18 PM
jantilllon said...: Then again, here in Costa Rica, and many parts elsewhere IP addresses are bound to your ISP service contract, by disclosing the IP address you are in fact pinpointing where are you watching it from and who you are in most cases, nevermind cookies or the browsers' ID (take for instance Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.0; Windows 2000) Opera 6.03 [en]) attached to other pieces of http-proxy-glued-together unique information like the Windows user-name that I'am positive are present in ANY FORM OF LOGS WORTH ASKING FOR. To me, this is a way you buy for free the best stinking targeted e-marketing database ever built and if that isn't enough getting Viacom paid $1B for it.
Bad Judge!, Bad Judge!.; July 4, 2008 5:30 PM
deutschluz said...: Fight the good fight, Youtube team. THere's absolutely no need for anyone to know that much about viewership. THe uploading however is a different story. F#ck Viacom and all the media comglomerates! they're trying to take away are freedoms, or just profit from them. Either way its bullsh&t; July 4, 2008 6:08 PM
SublimePsychedilics said...: This would of never happened if google weren't farming all this information!; July 4, 2008 6:24 PM
animarevolution3 said...: in the future, like most popular businesses, youtube will end up like myspace and then it will get competition without all the restrictions, and then we'll all flock over to find our freedoms...; July 4, 2008 6:27 PM
animarevolution3 said...: in the future, like most popular businesses, youtube will end up like myspace and then it will get competition without all the restrictions, and then we'll all flock over to find our freedoms...; July 4, 2008 6:27 PM
pussysale said...: The feds want power, the poorer we are, the less rights we have, the more control they have. Knowing where we are, if they decide to pick anyone up they can nab them, so the more info them have on us the more they can control us.; July 4, 2008 6:42 PM
narcoleptus said...: Viacom spend many millions advertising they're products every year.

Utterly incapable of seeing reality from more than one point of view they play a game in which they conveniently overlook the fact that through us and youtube they get vast amounts of 'PRICELESS' advertising and publicity for they're shows, stations, channels etc.

All the money in the world couldn't buy this quality of grassroots publicity but they are pinhole visioned mean minded and morally corrupt.

Its not about money, they make more than enough, its about 'Power'
The big corporation as Masters of our world!
The copyright laws are a complete and utter mess, and that's what its like for the experts!
Viacom has used its money and power to EXPLOIT this fact!; July 4, 2008 6:48 PM
narcoleptus said...: Viacom spend many millions advertising they're products every year.

Utterly incapable of seeing reality from more than one point of view they play a game in which they conveniently overlook the fact that through us and youtube they get vast amounts of 'PRICELESS' advertising and publicity for they're shows, stations, channels etc.

All the money in the world couldn't buy this quality of grassroots publicity but they are pinhole visioned mean minded and morally corrupt.

Its not about money, they make more than enough, its about 'Power'
The big corporation as Masters of our world!
The copyright laws are a complete and utter mess, and that's what its like for the experts!
Viacom has used its money and power to EXPLOIT this fact!; July 4, 2008 6:48 PM
Forcemaster2000 said...: Right on YouTube team! Personally, I'm boycotting anything "Viacom". Down with Corporate America!; July 4, 2008 6:57 PM
coffeefish said...: You must keep our info private! You can do it!; July 4, 2008 6:57 PM
narcoleptus said...: Viacom spend many millions advertising they're products every year.

Utterly incapable of seeing reality from more than one point of view they play a game in which they conveniently overlook the fact that through us and youtube they get vast amounts of 'PRICELESS' advertising and publicity for they're shows, stations, channels etc.

All the money in the world couldn't buy this quality of grassroots publicity but they are pinhole visioned mean minded and morally corrupt.

Its not about money, they make more than enough, its about 'Power'
The big corporation as Masters of our world!
The copyright laws are a complete and utter mess, and that's what its like for the experts!
Viacom has used its money and power to EXPLOIT this fact!; July 4, 2008 7:00 PM
bjd020695 said...: I think that this is ridiculous. It infringes upon our personal privacy.

Honesty, I feel that if Viacom doesn't have to get their hand out of my computer, than I should be able to know the IP addresses of all the Viacom lawyers, workers, the Board, the VP's and the CEO.; July 4, 2008 7:48 PM
Minnepeach19 said...: Is someone posting a site on YouTube that lists all the Viacom productions, syndications and such so that an effect boycott can be launched?

If they want my IP address in order to "shut down" my computer usage, I want to know what products they are "protecting" so I can stop viewing them on YouTube and in commerically viable media.

LET"S GIVE VIACOM WHAT THEY WANT__A NON-VIEWING AUDIENCE.; July 4, 2008 8:05 PM
TheNetworkZ said...: I don't get it. So, if we uploaded something and got deleted due to terms of violations we're going to get sued?; July 4, 2008 8:11 PM
njpalko314 said...: This is a United States' Court doing United States' laws.

YouTube is international.

How the heck does watching videos make it possible to bring up international laws?; July 4, 2008 8:35 PM
alphratz said...: If you're looking for a site that lists all the Viacom brands -- whether to boycott them, whether to support them, whether to avoid violating terms of use on YouTube, whatever -- you can go to Viacom's site and click on "OUR BRANDS" and then at the bottom left of the brand listing there is a "BRAND INDEX" which gives even more detail. Assuming this URL doesn't get edited or cut off, that page is: http://www.viacom.com/ourbrands/brandindex/Pages/default.aspx; July 4, 2008 8:43 PM
daveheet said...: YouTube is so great. Thank you very much YouTube Team!; July 4, 2008 8:54 PM
macat49 said...: There was never any doubt in my mind that youtube was in effect data mining. Your rights have been violated not by viacom-an almost dead company anyway-but by youtube. Id suggest you folks begin to assert your freedoms.; July 4, 2008 8:57 PM
BzzFly said...: Viacom is not doing market research. They are setting up a strategy for a mass amount of lawsuits.

A username and IP address is enough information to identify an individual.

Just providing an IP address is enough to identify a household.

Providing the "viewer data" also provides data of those that post videos.

No video on this website is worth any user being sued over it. If there is anything that clearly violates copyright law, then it should be removed from the website if the owner wants it removed.; July 4, 2008 9:08 PM
BzzFly said...: FYI: Your "Post Comment" submission only works in FireFox... not Opera 9.5 or IE 7.; July 4, 2008 9:10 PM
louster200 said...: BzzFly (posted Jul 04, 2008, 09:08 PM)
Viacom is not doing market research. They are setting up a strategy for a mass amount of lawsuits. A username and IP address is enough information to identify an individual. Just providing an IP address is enough to identify a household. Providing the "viewer data" also provides data of those that post videos. No video on this website is worth any user being sued over it. If there is anything that clearly violates copyright law, then it should be removed from the website if the owner wants it removed.

OH GOD. BzzFly I think has the right answer.; July 4, 2008 9:11 PM
phenomenalgrl said...: what about the right to privacy? couldn't we have some class action lawsuit against viacom for violating that right?

just wondering.; July 4, 2008 9:31 PM
bushyguitar said...: Ha, not that I want it to happen, but if youtube gets shut down, there will be a new alternative.

Also I wonder how many Viacom employees havopyrighted me viewed caterial on youtube...; July 4, 2008 9:31 PM
bushyguitar said...: my comment? wtf happened lol, *have viewed copyright material on youtube; July 4, 2008 9:33 PM
phenomenalgrl said...: isn't it only illegal to upload such material on to the site or download it to our pc's. how is viewing it from a 3rd party going to hold us accountable?

we aren't downloading the software but viewing through a 3rd party host.; July 4, 2008 9:36 PM
dawnchrissy said...: There is nothing stating that a video you are watching violates copyright law. Therefore if you view it you are unknowingly commiting a crime? I think if anyone is going to be held responsible it is the original uploaders not the audience that has no idea.

YouTube should not have to reveal identifiable information.
However, if anyone should be held responsible it should be the original uploaders.; July 4, 2008 9:45 PM
theestranger said...: Sorry, last post should have said "even if Viacom doesn't use the info they gather to sue someone, some other corporation could."; July 4, 2008 10:04 PM
theestranger said...: Viacom wouldn't even have this information if Google/YouTube wasn't collecting it in the first place.

YT is being sued by LOTS of people, so even if Viacom doesn't use the info they gather someone, some other corporation could.

I want the option to opt out of this info gathering. Not getting the optimal "YouTube experience" is a small price to pay for keeping my info out of the hands of greedy corporations.; July 4, 2008 10:04 PM
Ss1mega said...: So what, does Viacom plan to sue everyone that viewed any of their owned material? Didn't this happen to Napster when it was providing free mp3s and later got shut down? Sure the music industry may have won in shutting down Napster. But they failed when other P2P programs exploded in popularity and couldn't control or catch the millions of people using P2P or bittorrents. So if YouTube does fall, many others will rise to take its place. But this time they wont be owned by a multi billion dollar company.; July 4, 2008 10:35 PM
Ss1mega said...: So what, does Viacom plan to sue everyone that viewed any of their owned material? Didn't this happen to Napster when it was providing free mp3s and later got shut down? Sure the music industry may have won in shutting down Napster. But they failed when other P2P programs exploded in popularity and couldn't control or catch the millions of people using P2P or bittorrents. So if YouTube does fall, many others will rise to take its place. But this time they wont be owned by a multi billion dollar company.; July 4, 2008 10:35 PM
santiagowechsler said...: "Of course, we have to follow legal process"
You guys better fight this tooth and nail. We are the lifeline of your business and your loyalties should first lie with us.
I don't know if you guys need to get better lawyers, but I cannot imagine a group of decently talented lawyers not being able to make a fourth amendment case and take it to the supreme court if necessary.; July 4, 2008 11:07 PM
theburnman said...: The responsible thing would have been to appeal the court's decision, and attempt to protect the privacy of your users.

While I personally do not condone violation of Intellectual Property rights... I find this sort of witch hunt to be infinitely more sinister.; July 4, 2008 11:13 PM
Schroeder182 said...: Easier said than done, but why can't Viacom work something out with YouTube. E.G. before, videos were taken down that had music on them, but now users get told ads will be placed on their videos (supposedly of which some revenue will go to the music studio)
------I know nothing of the law, just a little bit of common sense. In this particular example either 2 parties make money or none at all from these videos being on YouTube. Is Viacom loosing money? Or is it gaining an audience by YouTube exposure? In the context of Viacom, they either work with Google to which they share add revenue on their content, or they get NOTHING. ----------- However, you guys at YouTube and your reasoning of "We keep your IP address to personalise your YouTube experience" well all you need is just my username and browsing history. What does the IP address do in this case that my selected USERNAME won't? Good luck to you though, the future of viewing video media is online.; July 4, 2008 11:37 PM
Schroeder182 said...: Easier said than done, but why can't Viacom work something out with YouTube. E.G. before, videos were taken down that had music on them, but now users get told ads will be placed on their videos (supposedly of which some revenue will go to the music studio)
------I know nothing of the law, just a little bit of common sense. In this particular example either 2 parties make money or none at all from these videos being on YouTube. Is Viacom loosing money? Or is it gaining an audience by YouTube exposure? In the context of Viacom, they either work with Google to which they share add revenue on their content, or they get NOTHING. ----------- However, you guys at YouTube and your reasoning of "We keep your IP address to personalise your YouTube experience" well all you need is just my username and browsing history. What does the IP address do in this case that my selected USERNAME won't? Good luck to you though, the future of viewing video media is online.; July 4, 2008 11:37 PM
achampag said...: am just so disappointed.

and do you think you could fix the subscription glitch this summer?; July 4, 2008 11:48 PM
drumbum360 said...: I keep getting the message on my youtube page asking to link my gmail account to my youtube account. If I do so, will any of that information be handed over to Viacom?; July 5, 2008 12:14 AM
JadesFire77 said...: theestranger (posted Jul 04, 2008, 10:03 PM)
"Viacom wouldn't even have this information if Google/YouTube wasn't collecting it in the first place. YT is being sued by LOTS of people, so even if Viacom doesn't use the info they gather someone, some other corporation could. I want the option to opt out of this info gathering. Not getting the optimal "YouTube experience" is a small price to pay for keeping my info out of the hands of greedy corporations."

I agree with this. I would rather not have my YouTube experience 'customized' in exchange for privacy. I would rather have my anonymity than have a list of videos recommended for me. Especially since the videos recommended are based on a faulty program that simply chooses based on a random keyword. I would like the option to not to have my information tracked and stored. That way you don't have to worry about protecting our privacy in this way in the future when the laws catch up with technology. Next time, it could be worse!; July 5, 2008 12:41 AM
surrealistgeek said...: The information that Viacom claims to be interested in (views of illegal material vs. views of legal material) is publicly available. As far as I can see, they have no legitimate use for the private information which they have requested. I also do not understand why their request was granted; my best guess is that the judge simply fails to understand the technologies and concepts with which the case deals.

Viacom is still fighting to save a business model which no longer works. The odds are stacked very heavily against them overall, so they are resorting to unethical (and arguably illegal) tactics. The RIAA is doing the same thing, and has been for years; see how well that infamous campaign has worked so far.

As I understand it, YouTube is still fighting this. Carry on, YouTube.; July 5, 2008 1:53 AM
amnistic45 said...: Viacom can go away and leave youtube alone!; July 5, 2008 2:12 AM
darthrealgar said...: I heard something that Viacom was using MTV and the like as examples to say that YouTube was taking away viewers from their channels due to the music videos on this site. The only problem with that is: those channels don't play music anymore. Now tracks off of albums appearing as videos, I can see why someone would be pissed.; July 5, 2008 2:20 AM
Friikker said...: Well is that illegal get some music tracks ? movies, i know thats illegal coase the copyright, but what happens those users who uploaded movies/music tracks? and what those who have watching them?; July 5, 2008 2:22 AM
Friikker said...: And this is for my comment too, i havent uploaded any movies/music tracks with this account or my last account.; July 5, 2008 2:23 AM
Friikker said...: And this is for my comment too, i havent uploaded any movies/music tracks with this account or my last account.; July 5, 2008 2:24 AM
sazoulai said...: Um ... hi youtube ... can you explain why the FUCK you are giving them this information?

It is clearly a breach of privacy ... you are owned by Google ... a company that said no to President Bush ... sure you all have enough cajones to say NO to a stupid Judge who doesn't know what the hell she is ruling on!; July 5, 2008 2:30 AM
spotcode said...: I would rather that youtube (and google) doesn't keep track of my activities on any level!! I don't customized content .. I can give that up .. what I need is my privacy!!!; July 5, 2008 2:41 AM
esotereo said...: I have an idea, STOP LOGGING IPs. It bothers me that you guys are keeping track of viewing histories by IP for such a long time. Sure, a simple IP doesn't give out personal information but these bastards are known to contact service providers to attempt and retrieve the personal details attached to an IP, or at least to send scare tactic emails to their customers.

You have a staff of friggin geniuses at your disposal, why not get them to come up with a way to REALLY PROTECT our privacy. It was fun watching videos here, but I think I'll avoid YouTube videos from now on, log out of my account for good and if absolutely necessary, view videos through a proxy.

Thanks for trying, but we know and you know you can try a lot harder.; July 5, 2008 2:46 AM
quitbugginme said...: @surrealistgeek
The data Viacom need isn't publically available. They want to count the views for videos which infringed copyright, and they need that number to be high to prove their hypothesis that YouTube thrives on piracy. YouTube has removed the vast majority of infringing videos from the site by now, and they are quick about removing new ones. With the video removed, the view count also isn't public anymore. But these are just the numbers Viacom need, so they want the logs. Of course, anonymised logs or a simple summary for each video would have done as well – but then Google would have argued that it is too difficult for them to create such a summary. Providing the raw logs is arguably quick and easy.

Also, imagine that some twelve-year-old uploaded a two-minute clip from Nickelodeon in the summer of 2005, then thought better of it and deleted it on the following day. In order for Viacom to count the five or six views that this video generated, they need not only the logs, but they also need a copy of the deleted video. They'll watch through all of them and identify which content is theirs, so they can count those five or six views.

Of course, if Google wouldn't needlessly save IP addresses, would expire their logs after a few weeks, wouldn't hoard the videos deleted by their users years ago, Viacom would have little to go on now. Way to dig your own grave, Google!; July 5, 2008 2:46 AM
quitbugginme said...: Oh, and here is a question: When I was still making videos on this site, I made a lot of private videos for my friends and then deleted them when they had seen them.

Now, our private videos aren't passed around to Viacom, but our deleted videos are. What about our deleted private videos?; July 5, 2008 2:47 AM
Friikker said...: Yeah, but there is many million youtubers? right? so are they going to put everyone who have uploaded viacom videos to jail:D it will be an HUGE numbers of criminals:D; July 5, 2008 3:09 AM
wt123654 said...: Google loves mining data and learning from it. Google bought Youtube because of the obvious advertising revenue potential and the amazing amount of data they could collect from users for use in improving their current targeted advertising technologies. They have to have effective advertising or their business suffers --literally 99% of their 2008 Q1 revenue is from adverts. Now you understand why they collect so much data.

Indeed youtube is in a tough position because they really need to retain the data, but they also need to keep their users happy because they are the ones clicking the ads. Unfortunately they are owned by Google so you shouldn't expect a huge change in how they monitor your habits, except maybe for a shorter log retention period, which they promised to lower after they were ranked absolute worst in privacy among the top websites

It's sad to think that Google/youtube, with so many brilliant minds working for them, hasn't thought of inventive ways to retain data that can support their business model, and at the same time protect users who power their websites from situations like this

I like youtube, but the language used in this blog post is so disingenuous and full of public relations nonsense that a PR professor could cite it as an example on how to publicly respond to an ongoing corporate legal entanglement. I for one am not convinced that Youtube has vested interest in its user's privacy (but they sure do seem to be interested in keeping us coming back to this website: they use the word "experience" 4 times). Do they even read these comments?; July 5, 2008 3:39 AM
D3YSON said...: Thank you youtube
for trying to protect our rights.
It's a great honor to know that someone cares about our privacy.; July 5, 2008 3:44 AM
nalts said...: Viacommunists.; July 5, 2008 4:20 AM
DingoBoi said...: fuck off youtube and stop lying.

"(You should know, IP addresses identify a computer, not the person using it. It's not possible to determine your identity solely based on your IP address."

You SHOULD know that people have been convicted of sharing files based solely upon their IP address. The MPAA and RIAA have seen to this.

MORE LIES FROM YOUTUBE.; July 5, 2008 4:41 AM
alucard2107 said...: damn u viacom!!!!!; July 5, 2008 5:10 AM
TheOnlySkater said...: For anyone who says "Well Youtube/Google use the same data Viacom is wanting" there's a difference, Youtube/Google own the information not Viacom.

"Viacommunists" BRILLIANT!

DingoBoi: No, Youtube is right. IP address identifys the computer, but that is enough of a reason to confiscate that computer to inspect its history for file sharing illegally,noob.

After reading the Privacy Policy here again, releasing this information to Viacom would breach it. Advertisers should only have access to "They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize the advertising content you see." The username isn't included there, or anywhere else in the Policy. If Google/Youtube does somehow lose, a class action lawsuit I would completely join with over the infringement of their Privacy Policy.; July 5, 2008 5:45 AM
errietta said...: I am not sure it is a good idea. Things can always happen, and a hacker might eventually manage to get in your database, getting the IP addresses of the people using the service and packeting or DOSing them for 'fun'...; July 5, 2008 6:17 AM
errietta said...: I am not sure it is a good idea. Things can always happen, and a hacker might eventually manage to get in your database, getting the IP addresses of the people using the service and packeting or DOSing them for 'fun'...; July 5, 2008 6:17 AM
errietta said...: Also, yeah, I might still go to prison because someone else posted something illegal from my computer (sorry for the double comment bellow.. was accident!); July 5, 2008 6:18 AM
Friikker said...: So what this means if Youtube/Google loses?; July 5, 2008 7:16 AM
Friikker said...: So what this means if Youtube/Google loses?; July 5, 2008 7:18 AM
KingofContradiction said...: EVERYONE!! YOu can see how the court order is going at their site:

http://www.viacom.com/news/Pages/youtubelitigations.aspx; July 5, 2008 7:45 AM
aepedraza said...: fascist states of america; July 5, 2008 8:41 AM
jokr8790 said...: I hope that Google/You Tube is going to appeal the ruling. I also don't see how Viacom can't access personal information since we had to give that information when we subscribed. Personally, I think Viacom is being stupidly short sited about this since assuming Viacom products are being shown on You Tube (frankly I don't know if they are or not,) its free advertising. If I were Viacom I would be delighted, not sue.; July 5, 2008 8:49 AM
jokr8790 said...: I hope that Google/You Tube is going to appeal the ruling. I also don't see how Viacom can't access personal information since we had to give that information when we subscribed. Personally, I think Viacom is being stupidly short sited about this since assuming Viacom products are being shown on You Tube (frankly I don't know if they are or not,) its free advertising. If I were Viacom I would be delighted, not sue.; July 5, 2008 8:51 AM
FusionArmorX said...: Viacom paid the Judge.; July 5, 2008 8:59 AM
fooey88 said...: crap.; July 5, 2008 9:01 AM
BlackKingX said...: Viacom really pisses me off.. Can't google just buy-out Viacom to stop this never-ending lawsuit? Surely it has enough money.; July 5, 2008 9:20 AM
Friikker said...: "FusionArmorX (posted Jul 05, 2008, 08:59 AM)
Viacom paid the Judge."

Im not good at english so what this mean in this case?; July 5, 2008 9:24 AM
Friikker said...: "FusionArmorX (posted Jul 05, 2008, 08:59 AM)
Viacom paid the Judge."

Im not good at english so what this mean in this case?; July 5, 2008 9:24 AM
Friikker said...: "FusionArmorX (posted Jul 05, 2008, 08:59 AM)
Viacom paid the Judge."

Im not good at english so what this mean in this case?; July 5, 2008 9:28 AM
macat49 said...: I suggest that all youtube users follow developments on this website:http://www.eff.org/deeplinks.This foundation is one of the few groups working to maintain freedom on the web.It will only be because of groups like this that you will not be sued by viacom. Remember all those napster users?; July 5, 2008 9:31 AM
Friikker said...: "FusionArmorX (posted Jul 05, 2008, 08:59 AM)
Viacom paid the Judge."

Im not good at english so what this mean in this case?; July 5, 2008 9:34 AM
Friikker said...: So, they wont use "uploaded ILLEGAL movies" against the users who have uploaded them?; July 5, 2008 9:37 AM
Friikker said...: Or i meaned that they wont use, and sorry for triple posting my computer is lagging!; July 5, 2008 9:45 AM
wodahsking said...: youtube should not give out information for users outside the U.S. They have no jurisdiction for international I.P addresses.; July 5, 2008 10:03 AM
resonance451 said...: I seriously think the executives at Viacom fist themselves in 5,000 gallon pools of peanut butter and jelly while listening to Meredith Brooks' Bitch.

They sure know how to smack their bitch up, congratulations, Corporate America! You've proven that double-standards and hypocrisy are a very integral part of the American culture!; July 5, 2008 10:24 AM
jlaprise said...: Interesting that my "YouTube experience" has led me to "stumble" across this very important info. I think you could have done a better job making this info readily available by putting it in our faces when we come to YouTube, whether signing in, or anonymously. Also, if I have uploaded, then deleted videos that had music tracks in them, realizing I may have made a mistake: good luck using that as grounds to sue. owning up to one's mistakes, and rectifying the problem is not something you will be able to sue over. also, it would be just as easy to sue Google/YouTube for breach of privacy and a long list of other rights us Canadians have. And that speaks nothing for the International audience that comprises YouTube and Google. We all do to much comlaining, and never take enough action. Its time that ACTION speaks!!; July 5, 2008 10:33 AM
jlaprise said...: Interesting that my "YouTube experience" has led me to "stumble" across this very important info. I think you could have done a better job making this info readily available by putting it in our faces when we come to YouTube, whether signing in, or anonymously. Also, if I have uploaded, then deleted videos that had music tracks in them, realizing I may have made a mistake: good luck using that as grounds to sue. owning up to one's mistakes, and rectifying the problem is not something you will be able to sue over. also, it would be just as easy to sue Google/YouTube for breach of privacy and a long list of other rights us Canadians have. And that speaks nothing for the International audience that comprises YouTube and Google. We all do to much comlaining, and never take enough action. Its time that ACTION speaks!!; July 5, 2008 10:33 AM
jlaprise said...: Notice the 'archives'
-------------------------------->>>>>>
ROTFLMAO; July 5, 2008 10:34 AM
etahgnimusnoc said...: Deliver the Usernames and IP addresses on printed paper! They didn't say HOW you had to deliver the info.; July 5, 2008 10:50 AM
realnewsdm said...: I have never even uploaded one thing on this server!
My personal info is my own, especially my login name, IP address ECT.
If you violate that we are done here!!
If the ruling is WRONG you can and will be held accountable for following it!; July 5, 2008 11:47 AM
loumalou2 said...: Guys, notice that Viacom have Paramount, Dreamwork's studios and MTV. If you've posted a video with music on it, since the author aren't in the court, you're not supposed to have any trouble and I can't believe that they'll spend money to pay people to check ip's address and wath we've checked, call our internet company, get our home address, can't believe they'll do that for billions of people.; July 5, 2008 12:46 PM
loumalou2 said...: Guys, notice that Viacom have Paramount, Dreamwork's studios and MTV. If you've posted a video with music on it, since the author aren't in the court, you're not supposed to have any trouble and I can't believe that they'll spend money to pay people to check ip's address and wath we've checked, call our internet company, get our home address, can't believe they'll do that for billions of people.; July 5, 2008 12:46 PM
yugo63 said...: The Answer is simple:

BOYCOTT ALL THINGS VIACOM !!!!; July 5, 2008 12:48 PM
sumfight said...: Keep fighting them, it will all pay off in the end; July 5, 2008 12:51 PM
loumalou2 said...: Guys, notice that Viacom have Paramount, Dreamwork's studios and MTV. If you've posted a video with music on it, since the author aren't in the court, you're not supposed to have any trouble and I can't believe that they'll spend money to pay people to check ip's address and wath we've checked, call our internet company, get our home address, can't believe they'll do that for billions of people.; July 5, 2008 12:53 PM
santiagowechsler said...: "Of course, we have to follow legal process"
You guys better fight this tooth and nail. We are the lifeline of your business and your loyalties should first lie with us.
I don't know if you guys need to get better lawyers, but I cannot imagine a group of decently talented lawyers not being able to make a fourth amendment case and take it to the supreme court if necessary.; July 5, 2008 12:57 PM
Fusurugi said...: Copyright infringement this or that...
Putting the Userbase as whole under general Suspicion is just as illicit as sharing copyrighted Material in the first Place.
I know that Viacom needs to make Money, and I accept and understand their Fear of losing their earnest earned Money.
But do they realy earn it, with legit Content? At the Moment I highly dare to doubt it from the Bottom of my Heart.; July 5, 2008 1:08 PM
RohanSnaKe said...: "IP addresses identify a computer, not the person using it"

Wrong! The provider saves all data about the users. If you give somene the IP adress they can check datas like name/location/...

Does it mean YouTube is logging our IP adress and giving them to other people?; July 5, 2008 2:06 PM
bluebrody7 said...: you probably won't go to jail or anything but, you may have your account gone....argh viacom now officialy sucks. screw them.; July 5, 2008 2:10 PM
markomarten said...: I think it's sour grapes from Viacom.They haven't moved with the times!
If they had the TESTICULAR FORTITUDE or BOLLOCKS as it is called in The UK they would realise the web is for everyone!
My Advice to VIAICOM is go and crawl to the hole in the ground where you belong!
By being greedy and dumb they wan't to stop us enjoying what we like!
BOYCOTT VIACOM and refuse to have anything to do with them,that will hurt them. If no one buys their products or services they will go bust and a good job if you ask me!; July 5, 2008 2:16 PM
markomarten said...: my advice to Viacom
Go and Fuck off!; July 5, 2008 2:18 PM
markomarten said...: MY ADVICE TO VIACOM
"FUCK OFF WHILE YOU CAN"; July 5, 2008 2:18 PM
GodHandPresents said...: Recently, YouTube was forced to release all private information regarding all videos every user watches, what every user's ip is (which gives them access to your address), and much more. In response to this, if you feel this is an utter violation of your privacy, post this message in every video that you view, and no longer support Viacom movies. Oh yeah, FUCK VIACOM!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0TBSssEqRg
^-- Link to join the Fuck Viacom Campaign; July 5, 2008 3:21 PM
Lochson said...: I am not concerned with what viacom thinks about unauthorized use of its intellectual property. I AM CONCERNED that Youtube is going to give out IP addresses when Viacom does not need them to establish watching habits. Youtube needs to pull out all the stops to prevent this from happening. I will be back to youtube when this is all settled,; July 5, 2008 4:13 PM
SuperOven said...: I don't see why ip addresses have anything to do with viewing tendencies, tell them to look at the bottom of videos for the view counter, so much easier and not a waste of paper.; July 5, 2008 4:40 PM
SuperOven said...: I don't see why ip addresses have anything to do with viewing tendencies, tell them to look at the bottom of videos for the view counter, so much easier and not a waste of paper.; July 5, 2008 4:40 PM
marniespeaks said...: IP addressed come in handy when you plan to sue the Independent IPs for their user data info in the future.

Why didn't Google even try to appeal this Reagan Appointed 80 year old Judge's decision?

Why did you violate your own TOS and open yourselves up to a Massive Class Action Lawsuit by ALL users?

Google you own Youtube, a state of the art mass communications network, why didn't you use the power of your own company and ask your users to flood Congress with complaints?

Google, why didn't you and your lawyers at least TRY?; July 5, 2008 6:05 PM
marniespeaks said...: IP addressed come in handy when you plan to sue the Independent IPs for their user data info in the future.

Why didn't Google even try to appeal this Reagan Appointed 80 year old Judge's decision?

Why did you violate your own TOS and open yourselves up to a Massive Class Action Lawsuit by ALL users?

Google you own Youtube, a state of the art mass communications network, why didn't you use the power of your own company and ask your users to flood Congress with complaints?

Google, why didn't you and your lawyers at least TRY?; July 5, 2008 6:05 PM
elvenking1 said...: THIS IS RIDICULOUS YOUTUBE, WHEN I SIGNED UP WITH SITE I AGREED TO GIVE THIS SITE MY INFO NOT VIACOM!!!! THAT IS AN ILLEGAL INVASION OF MY PRIVACY!! SCREW VIACOM AND SCREW YOUTUBE!!!; July 5, 2008 6:07 PM
Johnnymushio said...: viacom sucks, leave youtube and never come back, leave us aloneeeeee; July 5, 2008 6:22 PM
simpleOgre said...: does that include all users globally or just US users ?; July 5, 2008 6:22 PM
OutsanityDotCom said...: what they don't know is people rather watch tv on the internet no matter the site than watch it on tv. i don't even watch my tv as much.

ALL COMPANIES LIKE VIACOM AND THE REST CAN GO SUCK IT LIKE A HOUSEWIFE!; July 5, 2008 6:30 PM
DZMPLZ said...: How the Hell could youtube give a company my IP ?? Do you know what could happen if it gets in the wronghands???? Privacy is ABOVE any copyright & intellectual property!!!!!!!. Appeal it and take your servers outside USA,...Youtube and Viacom needs to get SUED,..by someone; July 5, 2008 6:47 PM
SecretSweety said...: BOYCOTT VIACOM AND VIACOM NETWORKS. BOYCOTT THEM!!! I STOPPED WATCHING MTV A long LONG LOOOONG TIME AGO KICK MONEY GUZZLING VIACOM TO THE CURB FOR EXPLOITING OUR PRIVACY TO PUMP THEIR OWN RATINGS!!!! WHAT'S NEXT? THIS IS BULLCRAP.; July 5, 2008 7:38 PM
justinzaru said...: This is utterly pathetic. Appeal, appeal, appeal! It's their responsobility to monitor their content, and if they suspect, find any copyright violation, they can, though an accepted legal process request that media to be removed from your servers. Nothing more and nothing less. I agree, go tell them to fuck themselves. In fact, I think every user on YouTube should take a snippet of any Viacom media - say, less than 5s and then append a big F YOU!; July 5, 2008 7:40 PM
WoWZ3r said...: Make sure those viacom fag get fucked extra hard please; July 5, 2008 7:53 PM
sexandgromit said...: This is fucked up. I've been coming to youtube less and less of late. This is just another reason to fuck off totally. Hello dailymotion! (psst, they let you see the boobies on that site!); July 5, 2008 8:05 PM
Carson314 said...: Is there anything that we, as users, can do?; July 5, 2008 8:43 PM
commodore256 said...: There should be a retrial.; July 5, 2008 10:09 PM
Luvrrr said...: Uhm yeah, dear Youtube users, I'm getting the fuck out of your website. If this is how it's going to be done you're going to have to do it without me.

Nice knowing you and I always knew something would backstab me.; July 5, 2008 10:32 PM
DingoBoi said...: the simple solution would be to replace the IP's with a random, unique identifier that CAN'T BE FUCKING TRACED BACK TO A USER. But no, the YOUTARDS fucked over their community again!

fuck you, you Youtube lubejobs.; July 5, 2008 11:01 PM
DingoBoi said...: SCREW YOUTUBE.; July 5, 2008 11:04 PM
TyeNee said...: Viacom can take their suit and shove it. Some of your shows were posted for free for a little while? BAWWWWWWW, they're still rich as hell. This is the largest video sharing community ever. I don't think we're going down without a fight.; July 5, 2008 11:09 PM
gytzomanu said...: my IP is linking my username to my real name - as someone orded you to give the IPs in the same way they can ask ISPs te give names and aadreses.
Even i never post a file on youtube, i do not like that someone may create a "profile" on me neither youtube, or yahoo, or google or any other "user care" portals. I am about to believe that really exist a conspiracy theory and everyone of us has a "dossier" on a server.
sincerely,
an ex-yuotube user!; July 6, 2008 12:07 AM
Montagraph said...: I think that public outcry may persuade them to back off on the user name and I.P. Addresses! If not, I am sure that a class action Law Suet is in order against Viacom for invasion of Privacy! I think that "We The People" should sue Viacom for a Trillion dollars in Federal Court and if need be, take this matter all the way to the Supreme Court!; July 6, 2008 12:44 AM
Friikker said...: So, when they get our usernames/ip addresses? with those they know where do we live... im sure they may use it agains users who have uploaded movies what they own? but that breaking rules of our privacy right? why they just cant look it without ip addresses and usernames? it can be done without those so those usernames and ip addresses are "useless" in that case.... damn you viacom....; July 6, 2008 1:40 AM
1acrimosa said...: Boooooooooooooooo!; July 6, 2008 1:57 AM
SeekerOfFalsehood said...: Google should fight this all the way to the supreme court. Anything less would be a betrayal to the YouTube community.; July 6, 2008 2:40 AM
RAWRgoesMeMo said...: Yeah; so much for our amendments way to go American judges..; July 6, 2008 2:49 AM
8096446 said...: I signed up in the UK.We have a law preventing the passing of personal information to third parties without our permission (Data protection Act).I believe many countries have similar laws.The dubious ruling of an American court, with no jurisdiction in the UK,does not override these laws.As such I specifically do not grant permission for my private details to be passed to any third party.Tony Seeger; July 6, 2008 3:01 AM
8096446 said...: If Necessary we (You Tubers)could organize ourselves to take positive action against Viacom.Globally there are tens possibly hundreds of millions of you tube viewers.It would not be to difficult to organize a period of boycott of all Viacom products.For example,if it is a Viacom film don't watch it,DVD - don't buy it,Media service - don't subscribe,etc etc.You Tube have the power to orchestrate such a protest action if they choose.The Viacom ruling is very unpopular.and I suspect media coverage would be huge,increasing further the width of the protest.; July 6, 2008 3:21 AM
segagman said...: Corporate media has seen the power of the internet. Like with Obama and Ron Paul and now they want con pleat subservient control so they can spin every one there agenda.
There is know free America any more there is only corporate America. Viacom is wiping its ass with the Constitution!!!; July 6, 2008 3:21 AM
8096446 said...: If Necessary we (You Tubers)could organize ourselves to take positive action against Viacom.Globally there are tens possibly hundreds of millions of you tube viewers.It would not be to difficult to organize a period of boycott of all Viacom products.For example,if it is a Viacom film don't watch it,DVD - don't buy it,Media service - don't subscribe,etc etc.You Tube have the power to orchestrate such a protest action if they choose.The Viacom ruling is very unpopular.and I suspect media coverage would be huge,increasing further the width of the protest.; July 6, 2008 3:24 AM
travisoffbjh2 said...: they have no right... i will never buy anything viacom again.; July 6, 2008 5:52 AM
quaker48 said...: This is absolutely sickening. Our forefathers fought and died to give us the rights we have one of those been privacy. Our rights as honest hard working human beings are been slowly eroded this is yet another blow. I hope google will fight for us all.; July 6, 2008 6:25 AM
Hopeanuali said...: When i saw that in news i was like "#¤"%&%(%&()&¤"¤"½!"¤"#¤%%##¤&%(/%!!!!
Its in FINLAND too!
Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!; July 6, 2008 6:39 AM
rondionne said...: This is nonsense. Do anyone have any idea how many companies compile your data? If your firewall is not configured properly, any email you open can identify your computers IP. It's to late. Your info is already out there. This information is a commodity that has value. Your record of internet activity is sold.
where do you think the spam originates?; July 6, 2008 6:40 AM
Fallenhero36 said...: There is alot of things wrong with this.
1. All Users are not americans even so the amercian court has no right to release private data that does not bid to are laws
2.I believe this is a big inviasion of our privacy i think they have no right to know what videos we've been looking at even if the say they will not release info and stuff i dont trust most bussiness due to the fact there all money hungry and might sell i info under the table
3. I personly believe the internet should not be supervise by any goverment
was listing reason now just going off so stoped the list but theres is many more reason but most of all i believe in personal privacy

I think we should start a PETITION all in favor say yea; July 6, 2008 6:46 AM
Fallenhero36 said...: There is alot of things wrong with this.
1. All Users are not americans even so the amercian court has no right to release private data that does not bid to are laws
2.I believe this is a big inviasion of our privacy i think they have no right to know what videos we've been looking at even if the say they will not release info and stuff i dont trust most bussiness due to the fact there all money hungry and might sell i info under the table
3. I personly believe the internet should not be supervise by any goverment
was listing reason now just going off so stoped the list but theres is many more reason but most of all i believe in personal privacy

I think we should start a PETITION all in favor say yea; July 6, 2008 6:46 AM
Fallenhero36 said...: There is alot of things wrong with this.
1. All Users are not americans even so the amercian court has no right to release private data that does not bid to are laws
2.I believe this is a big inviasion of our privacy i think they have no right to know what videos we've been looking at even if the say they will not release info and stuff i dont trust most bussiness due to the fact there all money hungry and might sell i info under the table
3. I personly believe the internet should not be supervise by any goverment
was listing reason now just going off so stoped the list but theres is many more reason but most of all i believe in personal privacy

I think we should start a PETITION all in favor say yea; July 6, 2008 6:49 AM
piccahu said...: FUCKING VIACOM!!!@!@!@; July 6, 2008 7:12 AM
rondionne said...: This is nonsense. Do anyone have any idea how many companies compile your data? If your firewall is not configured properly, any email you open can identify your computers IP. It's to late. Your info is already out there. This information is a commodity that has value. Your record of internet activity is sold.
where do you think the spam originates?; July 6, 2008 7:14 AM
Sephiroth21682 said...: Boycott VIACOM! They have set the new pace to invade our privacy, they are the first stepping stone to many invasions from many companies in the future! Something needs to be done to protest this money hungry invasive corporation: BOYCOTT BOYCOTT BOYCOTT!; July 6, 2008 8:19 AM
quitbugginme said...: @rondionne
Can you be a bit more coherent, please? Are you referring to web beacons in HTML e-mails? No sanely configured MUA should even load remote images (no sanely configured MUA should render or produce HTML at all, but I know that's expecting too much). Also, spam "comes from" people posting their e-mail address publically; from using short or guessable local-parts; from running malware on their systems; and from signing up for shady services. I don't know what any of this has to do with the matter at hand.

Of course every company collects data. That doesn't make it okay. Public pressure has made Google Search anonymise their saves searches after eighteen months. That's still far too long, but we know now that their policies are even worse with YouTube. So maybe public pressure will help here as well. Maybe the whole Viacom debacle will turn out to be a good thing. Oh, and it's never too late. You can't take back the data that you've sent to Google and similar evil companies over the years, but if you stop using their services today, the profile they keep about you will be next to worthless ten years from now.; July 6, 2008 8:32 AM
RichardFDisk said...: Format C:

ooops! sorry judge our data compiling server has just lost the hard drive & we can't provide any of this information as ordered and we're in the process of rewriting our database compiler which will not collect, nor store any user info!!!

thank you very much; July 6, 2008 8:34 AM
itschrisseysosmile said...: I am so angry about this decision.
I don't live in America, therefore my details shouldn't be passed on due to the Data Protection Act.
I don't blame youtube, I blame Viacom, the greedy bastards. I have seen videos about this, and as someone pointed out, Youtube dont make any money out of users uploading copyrighted clips.
I will be boycotting Viacoms products, and I hope that people do the same
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.; July 6, 2008 8:34 AM
francofuentesaracena said...: Thanks for tryin (at least) to protect a little bit more our privacy. Sadly, I found some users tryin to take advantage from this situation, hoping to sue you when their information get into Viacom hands. I really hope everything ends fine for YouTube, and no one try to get some money from this unfortunately sittuation.; July 6, 2008 9:28 AM
BigAl109 said...: I will also be boycotting Viacom. This is utter bull!; July 6, 2008 9:44 AM
Sharenova said...: The court is also ordering that Google hand over all videos that have ever been taken down for any reason. The logs alone take up 12 terabytes. Google should print them out and deliver them on paper.; July 6, 2008 9:46 AM
fader6818 said...: If Google is really concerned with people's rights, they should refuse to turn over those documents.

Moral people have an ethical obligation to resist unjust law. Refusing to comply would garner widespread support and go a long way to resisting the intrustion by quasi-governmental corporations and the tyranny of the government itself.; July 6, 2008 11:17 AM
haley0918 said...: yes, IPs may not reveal personal privates but location. well, if it's possible for viacom to get the IPs of the users in youtube, why not they get the IP logs of the users in America from American ISPs even if using dynamic IPs? users outside America will be another case. if you ever play around with some hacking demos, you know what this viacom's act might lead to. i just can't quite believe that there's still no significant physical action in this "people rules" country. boycott? will it work? for some matter i think that boycott has only temporary effect. after some advertisements of pretty good content from viacom, people might just forget about this case forever.
(P.S. if viacom ever get user's email address, heheh...more spams coming up to flood our email servers and outlook express. No matter how strong the security is, there's a "way" to get pass.); July 6, 2008 11:31 AM
haley0918 said...: yes, IPs may not reveal personal privates but location. well, if it's possible for viacom to get the IPs of the users in youtube, why not they get the IP logs of the users in America from American ISPs even if using dynamic IPs? users outside America will be another case. if you ever play around with some hacking demos, you know what this viacom's act might lead to. i just can't quite believe that there's still no significant physical action in this "people rules" country. boycott? will it work? for some matter i think that boycott has only temporary effect. after some advertisements of pretty good content from viacom, people might just forget about this case forever.
(P.S. if viacom ever get user's email address, heheh...more spams coming up to flood our email servers and outlook express. No matter how strong the security is, there's a "way" to get pass.); July 6, 2008 11:33 AM
haley0918 said...: yes, IPs may not reveal personal privates but location. well, if it's possible for viacom to get the IPs of the users in youtube, why not they get the IP logs of the users in America from American ISPs even if using dynamic IPs? users outside America will be another case. if you ever play around with some hacking demos, you know what this viacom's act might lead to. i just can't quite believe that there's still no significant physical action in this "people rules" country. boycott? will it work? for some matter i think that boycott has only temporary effect. after some advertisements of pretty good content from viacom, people might just forget about this case forever.
(P.S. if viacom ever get user's email address, heheh...more spams coming up to flood our email servers and outlook express. No matter how strong the security is, there's a "way" to get pass.); July 6, 2008 11:35 AM
SSanf said...: Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

There is no probable cause to search the accounts of all the members of YT. Doing so is unconstitutional! No one is allowed, under the terms of our Constitution, to go on a fishing expedition through our personal records.

This must be stopped! We, the users, need a lawyer badly! Please, help us get a lawyer to represent the interest of the users.

FUCK VIACOM!; July 6, 2008 11:50 AM
thesonicguy said...: I don't like it.
I don't post copy right video's or watch them, But I like my info being sent to Viacom.; July 6, 2008 12:23 PM
thesonicguy said...: Let me recap I said...
I don't like it. I don't post copy right video's or watch them, But I like my info being sent to Viacom.
I forgot to put the don't.

This one is more clear.

I don't like Viacom having my info.
I don't post copyright video's or watch them.; July 6, 2008 12:28 PM
eskikasar said...: If it's logged, it WILL be sold.
Especially by Google and it's properties.

This is really just a grab for a freebie so they can just buy search history and correlate IP addresses between the two databases.

I like YouTube repeating that IP addresses are meaningless. The RIAA seems to disagree, and they're above courts and judges.; July 6, 2008 1:02 PM
eminn3m said...: It's obvious that the real reason Viacom wants the data is to analyze demographic viewing habits and use it to market their content. This is an even bigger asset to them then winning the money they're suing for. That's pocket change in comparison to what this data can do for them.; July 6, 2008 1:15 PM
AceValentine1219 said...: Of all the sane, and possibly not so sane world wide Youtube members and contributers,is it not possible that at least one out there would be more than willing to put viacoms CEO in the crosshairs and pull the fucking trigger.
If CEOs start getting knocked off for there bullshit, maybe they will start behaving.
sincerely,
a willing soul
~Ace; July 6, 2008 1:41 PM
AceValentine1219 said...: Of all the sane, and possibly not so sane world wide Youtube members and contributers,is it not possible that at least one out there would be more than willing to put viacoms CEO in the crosshairs and pull the fucking trigger.
If CEOs start getting knocked off for there bullshit, maybe they will start behaving.
sincerely,
a willing soul
~Ace; July 6, 2008 1:41 PM
djvibetv said...: This reminds of back in the Day when everyone was boycotting Napster and MP3 file sharing.. how did that work out. Napster got shut down and then 40 other services sprung up the next day.. there is no point in fighting about all this.. its called progress and the fossils over Viacom better fu$%kin figure it out. figure out a way to monetize it rather spending all that money on legal council.. I love Youtube and I hope that they can endure this all becuase they are really providing such a great service and distribution for some many independant content producers...; July 6, 2008 2:21 PM

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Friday, July 4, 2008

The Law and Your Privacy

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Friday, July 4, 2008

The Law and Your Privacy

680 comments:

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