US Court ruling: Google must provide logs of every Youtube user

CptStern

CptStern

suckmonkey
Joined
May 5, 2004
Messages
10,303
Reaction score
62
Google must divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched any video on YouTube, a US court has ruled.

The ruling comes as part of Google's legal battle with Viacom over allegations of copyright infringement.

The viewing log, which will be handed to Viacom, contains the log-in ID of users, the computer IP address (online identifier) and video clip details.

While the legal battle between the two firms is being contested in the US, it is thought the ruling will apply to YouTube users and their viewing habits everywhere.

Viacom, which owns MTV and Paramount Pictures, has alleged that YouTube is guilty of massive copyright infringement.

The ruling will see the viewing habits of millions of YouTube users given to Viacom, totalling more than 12 terabytes of data
Click to expand...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7488009.stm


that's insane, it would take generations for someone to go through all those logs
 
They want to prove that most of the content watched on you tube is in fact copyrighted material. I don't see why they need user ids and ip addresses to get that information. I'm sure there will be an appeal.
 
there has to be some privacy issue at stake here
 
Not forgetting that millions of YouTube viewers who don't actively use the site for uploading or viewing pirated and/or copyrighted material would be subject to having their information shared without their consent.

The insanity of people, companies or governments trying to regulate the internet is overwhelming, as I'm reminded of in this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7486743.stm
 
wtf that's insane cormeh, how can they possibly force isp to hand over logs and enforce the 3 strike rule?
 
They can't force it exactly, it's upto the providers to agree to the initiative. (Or lack of).

I appreciate that theft isn't to be tolerated but all these crazy measures do is cripple the use of the internet which is is all about the free exchange of ideas. And tits.
 
I really don't think it's theft. It's copyright infringement.
 
Privacy issues? Nothing you do online is private. So the next time you are looking for midget asian porn you might want to keep that in mind.
 
well I meant on whether isp are allowed to devulge details about there customers ..I know in canada it's a bit of a legal grey area
 
My internet provider (in holland) says it doesnt hand out ANY information about it customers to a third party...
They say that everything you download is yours bassicly

-dodo
 
CptStern said:
well I meant on whether isp are allowed to devulge details about there customers ..I know in canada it's a bit of a legal grey area
Click to expand...

It would depend on the country you are in I guess. Here in the states the major telecoms (with the exception fo qwest) have demonstrated they are more than happy to provide the government with any information they want. And as a result our government has demonstrated they are willing to provide them with immunity as a result. Sharing your information to entities that are not related to government will depend on each provider and the privacy policy associated with that provider.

As far as this case goes it's really hard to define privacy. In this case google is in control of your privacy. And their privacy policy clearly states they can share your information especially in legal cases:

We may use personal information to provide the services you've requested, including services that display customized content and advertising.
We may also use personal information for auditing, research and analysis to operate and improve Google technologies and services.
We may share aggregated non-personal information with third parties outside of Google.
When we use third parties to assist us in processing your personal information, we require that they comply with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
We may also share information with third parties in limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process, preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our network and services.
Google processes personal information on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries. In some cases, we process personal information on a server outside your own country.
Click to expand...

http://www.google.com/gwt/n?u=http://www.google.com/privacy_highlights.html

I still don't understand why Viacom is requesting such detailed information. They don't need uniqie user IDs and IP addresses to show that most of the content watched on you tube is copyrighted, they can get that evidance without needing this kind of personal information.

But by the same token you really have no legal right to privacy here, in fact on the internet you almost never have a legal right to privacy because of the large network that your data runs through, a network not owned by one single entity. In fact if you read the terms of your ISP I'm sure you will see a clause in there saying that your ISP is in no way reponsible for your privacy in terms of what you send over their network.
 
I agree that Google should have the right to give this out to an extent if it's absolutely necessary and only then, but Viacom's request and the ruling to give out the users and ip adresses is total bullshit as it is in no way necessary to check for the amount of illegal viewing on Youtube.
At this point I think they're either trying to look into people's private lives, or they're just being assholes.
 
I think they should just give Viacom the files people look at. Their IP addresses and usernames is irrelevant to anything. If you're just a normal person, meaning you only look at youtube every now and then, what right do they have to give that kind of stuff away? I mean, if you sign up for a username, you have to agree to their thing, but if you're just a guest, they have no right to give any of your info away.

The good videos, and the videos people actually watch aren't even copywrited anyways, they are usually original. TV shows usually don't get much traffic compared to home-made vids.
 
You know, I really hate when corporations **** with my internet.

If they want to see how often copyrighted material is viewed - it's right there in plain sight, next to each video. '28,993,912 VIEWS'. This is just an excuse to find out who is doing what so they can take further action against uploaders of copyrighted material.

It sounds unconstitutional. I never created a user account there myself, but I think it's just wrong. I'm assuming there is some sort of privacy agreement when you create an account there?

And anyway, Youtube should not be held responsible when people upload something illegally. Isn't there a feature to request the removal of copyrighted material by clicking a button on the page, or something similar?


There are a million places online where you can upload copyrighted material. They are just picking on Youtube because Youtube has all the money. I've said it before, that lawyers are sharks and blood=money.

Youtube is the google of video reference and that is all. The poor quality audio and video is like a huge ****ing watermark across the screen - how can these big businesses complain when all youtube is doing is bringing in new customers, fans and prospects to them, by allowing people to witness new Audio/Video from all around the world?


Once, when I was remembering a part from a movie from like 1979, I typed in, 'dead parrot sketch' into youtube and immediately found what I was looking for. That is reference. Like when I go to the public library and check out the movie where that is from... for free on DVD.


You know, I think I'm going to see what all the fuss is about - gives me an idea - I think I'm going to go watch commercial free TV episodes on Youtube now.

BACKFIRE
 
Meh, I've never had much privacy on the internet, what with people being able to see my real name, and having to type in my resident registration number every frigging time.



It's not stupid at all, it makes people more careful, and the police have a way easier time arresting seditious people.
 
They government got to numbers already..
 
Some day this bullshit notion of copyright infringement will go away. At least, in its current form.
 
Numbers! You must not bow down to your evil leaders!

Wait, north or south?
 
So, how will this effect the average internet user? I have a YouTube account, so how will this affect me?
 
All of your family members, close and distant will receive a series of e-mail letters detailing how evil you are for viewing and supporting video copyright infringement.
 
Acepilotf14 said:
Numbers! You must not bow down to your evil leaders!

Wait, north or south?
Click to expand...

South.


We've been having social problems connected to internet anonymity, such as people spreading false rumors that ended up in a riot and having a city hall torched, or some celebrity killing herself over internet trolls.


Our internets are ****ing hardcore.




Finally, the police are getting around to arresting the retards that post conspiracy theories (in which they assert that it is 100% true) and people who sell kidneys online.
 
A celebrity killing herself because of trolls? Pathetic.

Kill yourself for a real reason, not that.
 
Raziaar said:
A celebrity killing herself because of trolls? Pathetic.

Kill yourself for a real reason, not that.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know, but you have to consider that some people are more susceptible to emotional distress when they open up a news article of themselves, and it has 700 comments on how stupid you are.
 
Dog-- said:
I mean, if you sign up for a username, you have to agree to their thing, but if you're just a guest, they have no right to give any of your info away.
Click to expand...

Any time you are on a web site even as a guest you are bound to their privacy policy. In this case Google's privacy policy states they can share your information, just like virtually every other web site out there.

So again, you have absolutely no legal right to privacy when you are online and you should keep that in mind.

15357 said:
South.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you'd be perfectly happy in the north.

We've been having social problems connected to internet anonymity, such as people spreading false rumors that ended up in a riot and having a city hall torched, or some celebrity killing herself over internet trolls.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing this was reported of extensively in your media and your media alone?
 
I could have figured it out very quickly by putting Daejon into google, but I was lazy at the time.
So, would your country do something about... say... kathak sung if he lived there?
 
CptStern said:
it would take generations for someone to go through all those logs
Click to expand...

I thought that at first until I thought about it more.

All they need to do is verify the ID of the videos containing copyrighted material, and then run counts on the amount of user accounts and/or views associated with those video ID's. It would still take a while to get those video ID's allocated, but nothing a bunch of data entry monkeys working for Viacom can't handle for a few weeks. It also might take hours to run one of those queries :p

I do business intelligence / data analytics for a living :O
 
Baal said:
All they need to do is verify the ID of the videos containing copyrighted material, and then run counts on the amount of user accounts and/or views associated with those video ID's.

I do business intelligence / data analytics for a living :O
Click to expand...

I'm a hobo, and I was thinking the same thing. You aren't that smart. I was just trying to keep my post down to 32 paragraphs or less.

Also Baalls.
 
I never claimed to be smart! Just that I do it for a living...

Don't assume!
 
Copyright infragment?COPYRIGHT INFRAGMENT?
HOW 'BOUT FREAKING PRIVACY INFRAGMENT !?
Idiots...
 
Yeah, and killing one person in an army of two means you killed 50% of them. But if it's an army of two Smiths', then you just pissed it off, and two more Smiths', plus one to replace the one you just killed will come to get 'yeh. You then get butt****ed.
 
No Limit said:
Sounds like you'd be perfectly happy in the north.
Click to expand...

Nah, I like my standard of living to exceed at least 20,000 per capita.


I'm guessing this was reported of extensively in your media and your media alone?
Click to expand...

Well, yes.

Acepilotf14 said:
I could have figured it out very quickly by putting Daejon into google, but I was lazy at the time.
So, would your country do something about... say... kathak sung if he lived there?
Click to expand...

Arrest him for violations of the electronic information laws (for dissemination of fraudulent information contributing to social disorder), or rather likely, leave him alone.

As long as he doesn't write anything false thats believable, he should be fine.
 
You know what numbers? The more I read your posts the more I realize what a comedic genius you truly are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

V-Man339
YouTube/Viacom suit gets nasty: ""F--- those motherf---ers"
Replies
5
Views
1K
Yuri
Yuri
CyberPitz
Viacom sues Google and youTube for more than $6 Billion!
Replies
37
Views
1K
CyberPitz
CyberPitz
Trevelyan
The UK & Harmful Content on the Internet and in Video Games
Replies
10
Views
1K
Acepilotf14
Acepilotf14
Back
Top