Viacom goes after youtube users

[partlink1]

viacom, has been allowed to recieve all the viewing historys, ip address's, user names and passwords of your youtube account, just to track down if you watched any video's with their material, and they may come after you

more info: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJbCWJNQUYI click the more info button for the judgeing details.

[HaneKisheru]

Hmm... interesting.
I don't see why they'd go after the viewers rather than Youtube itself, or the ones uploading the copyrighted videos. It seems like it'd be more complicated to track individual viewers.
And what difference is viewers boycotting Viacom going to make?

As much as I love YouTube, I think it needs to be gone. It's causing many problems, it makes it too easy to screw with copyrighted stuff.

[spacecadet319]

youtube.... gone? are u insane? how will u get the real news?

[Owenotto]

Youtube comersialized, gone, etc?? I don't care...

[partlink1]

you say that but if you ever looked at any of their material illegally on youtube they might try to come after you.

[Owenotto]

You wrong lol, i don't have youtube account....

[Lukasz]

You wrong lol, i don't have youtube account....
your ip is still recorded. :)


I am kinda happy you know. I am big fan of cyberpunk and every year we are getting closer to that. Can't wait.

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Ha this is a direct violation of freedom of information. Google offered Viacom anonymous information on how many of their videos are being watched, but Viacom refused. Now under the current Privacy laws in the USA it is illegal for the courts to request the viewing paterns of people without a warrant, although the judge in this case apparently felt this just applied to video tapes (this law was writen in 1986, so apparently by this judges reasoning the government can request all your rental records from blockbuster too, since they only carry DVDs >.>).

Moreover, what business does viacom have with wanting to know the ips of people who didn't even watch they're videos. I suspect an alterior motive involving market research, which isn't as paranoid as it sounds since Wal Mart was once caught putting tracking devices in their products to track how often people returned to their stores.

Google would win if they appealed this, if they have the balls they would stand up for privacy and freedom of information on the internet.

Also, people shouldn't be so hard on Google, since they are the only company that refused to hand over what their users searched for to the FBI, unlike yahoo, dogpile, and aol which all handed over the information on request.

[Sozoku]

Jeez, don't they have lives?

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Hmm... interesting.
I don't see why they'd go after the viewers rather than Youtube itself, or the ones uploading the copyrighted videos. It seems like it'd be more complicated to track individual viewers.
And what difference is viewers boycotting Viacom going to make?

As much as I love YouTube, I think it needs to be gone. It's causing many problems, it makes it too easy to screw with copyrighted stuff.

You do realize all this manga and anime you download here and from other sites is copyrighted and illegal lol...

Laws against filesharing are bogus, it is legal to share a videotape or CD, it is even legal to make copies of them. As soon as it becomes easy to do it over the internet the corporations decide that sharing should now be illegal >.> Just because they didn't foresee the internet. As long as people aren't profitting from copy-righted material, they have every right to distribute. So, yes youtube is in violation of the law since they profit from copyrighted material, the people watching and uploading are not in violation of the law.

[Owenotto]

Well, what business is Viacom working for?? As long as we don't have their material, it is okay right??
And all about that is silly imo...
Why'd they after the user instead Youtube itself.... The one who make profit is Youtube and now for their profit, it should be them who take the responsibilities...

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Well, what business is Viacom working for?? As long as we don't have their material, it is okay right??
And all about that is silly imo...
Why'd they after the user instead Youtube itself.... The one who make profit is Youtube and now for their profit, it should be them who take the responsibilities...

Google has made sure that their websites, which include youtube, are not liable for anything. Also, google has billions of dollars to spend on lawyers and could fight Viacom if they went after them. Just like the music industry went after regular people, it's scare tactics and it's much easier than sueing people who have the money to fight you.

I don't really care about Viacom's copyrights, this request is a violation of privacy. There are people (theoretically) who use youtube and do not watch copyrighted material, these people are having their rights violated by having their ip and username given to a corporation, which can't even guarantee that your passwords, usernames, and ip won't be leaked. I trust a company with a lot more experience in information technology like google to protect my information more than Viacom.

[Mousie]

wth!? I vlog on YouTube..how is it I'm only hearing about this crap now?
So this whole topic is telling me I can get my YouTube account banned just because I watched a 3 second southpark clip? Wtf is this bs??

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

wth!? I vlog on YouTube..how is it I'm only hearing about this crap now?
So this whole topic is telling me I can get my YouTube account banned just because I watched a 3 second southpark clip? Wtf is this bs??

Actually what it is telling you is that, if you have ever used youtube, or have a youtube account. Viacom now has your ip, and if you had an account your username and password, as well as knowledge of what videos you watched and what topics you have searched for.

[estranged]

the judge who ruled this can suck my balls. he ought to take the bribes he accepted from viacom and shove 'em up his ass along with his fucking gavel.

wth!? I vlog on YouTube..how is it I'm only hearing about this crap now? because you don't read the news?

[Mousie]

It's come to my attention that this news has been blown way out of proportion.

Original article posted here (http://mashable.com/2008/07/05/youtube-viacom/).

Chances are you’ve heard recently about an order (http://mashable.com/2008/07/03/youtube-viacom-users/) made by a judge for the Southern District of New York for Google to turn over user data to Viacom for videos uploaded to and played back on the megasite YouTube (http://mashable.com/category/youtube). The extent of the demand is quite extraordinary. The data Viacom has asked for stretches back a few years’ time, and seeing that the video host now serves user requests for billions of clips every month, Google’s compliance on the matter would no doubt toss this case firmly into the realm of very high-profile ligitation. Privacy advocates are atwitter.
Well, the heads in Mountain View, CA, have responded. In short, they’ve agreed. With two big exceptions. They want to deliver the records not including IP addresses and usernames.
Viacom made its request for YouTube (http://shots.snap.com/explore/11307/?key=6ff70e3830c3622fea69b92d992ef6a1&svc=Snap_Shot_Wikipedia&tag=YouTube&src=pub-2174634-www.mashable.com&cp=&asp=YouTube&dfs=208&tol=engage) YouTube http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.37/t.gif’s logbook as part of a $1bn lawsuit (http://www.mashable.com/2007/03/13/viacom-youtube/) that the content producer first filed in early 2007. The reason for the latest information request, granted by Judge Louis Stanton this past Tuesday, is that it wishes to “demonstrate video piracy patterns” on the video site.
http://mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ip-support.jpgThe information Viacom seeks of course involves user data in its original form, but the company said in a statement in response to concerns voiced by privacy advocates that it “has not asked for and will not be obtaining any personally identifiable information of any user.”
So, no worries? Well, it depends. This is a legal proceeding, and as such necessitates a process. All parties need to work out the details of the transfer, and while the basic statements delivered by Viacom and YouTube appear on the whole to be in agreement in keeping specific user data removed from the court battle, there’s at least one particularity that may be contentious.

To refer to the quote above stating that Viacom “will not be obtaining any personally identifiable information,” it is perhaps arguable that computer IP addresses don’t technically fall under that designation. YouTube wrote in a blog posthttp://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.37/t.gif (http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=Gh2N9xyKK8k) noting this fact, saying very plainly that “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.”
Therefore, while user names may not be an official pursuit for Viacom, YouTube may have to capitulate to the data request with IP records included. Which certainly won’t make privacy hawks happy.
Is this a bad omen for the video site, its parent company, or the users? If some past piracy-based court rulings are anything to go by, I imagine YouTube and its users are relatively safe. But this fight could prove hugely messy for all. IP addresses can help to narrow down sources of piracy, if not completely. And if nothing else, having such information can simply give Viacom the ability to piece together a stronger argument against YouTube. Much of this case hinges on how many specifics the plaintiff can rack up against the defendant. The less vague an attack by Viacom, the more effective. All now seems to depend on Google’s ability to convince the presiding judge that IPs are both too revealing and not revealing enough. Which would be supremely difficult to do at this point, I think.

@ Estranged. I read enough to know things that happened around me physically. Not virtually. Please tone down the vulgar language and subtle insults.

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

The Associated Press disagrees with that social networking site Mousie.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/biztech/07/03/youtubelawsuit.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch

The court order said to pass over their entire database, which includes usernames, passwords, viewing history, and ip.

[Mousie]

I still say this entire fiasco is being blown out of proportion. Viacom does not have any information from the database yet. Looking through a lot of my YT vloggers perspective, as well as speaking with some of them, there are way too many factors going on and certain things are being looked at in unnecessary depth.

Yes, I agree with Viacom in terms of, if they don't want their crap on YouTube then simply take it down.

Yes, I believe this is some sort of retarded stunt on Viacoms behalf.

No, I don't believe Viacom should have access to any of the users information on YouTube.

Yes, I believe Viacom should have only stuck to pointing the finger at YouTube without harming it users.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJbCWJNQUYI

Warning Explicit Material
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGaXj2MjfvM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0TBSssEqRg&feature=user
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G544gAWxEA&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkq8GO6izVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGfAu_HRz6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n98ZEJsSbbU

[Sozoku]

I still say this entire fiasco is being blown out of proportion. Viacom does not have any information from the database yet. Looking through a lot of my YT vloggers perspective, as well as speaking with some of them, there are way too many factors going on and certain things are being looked at in unnecessary depth.

Yes, I agree with Viacom in terms of, if they don't want their crap on YouTube then simply take it down.

Yes, I believe this is some sort of retarded stunt on Viacoms behalf.

No, I don't believe Viacom should have access to any of the users information on YouTube.

Yes, I believe Viacom should have only stuck to pointing the finger at YouTube without harming it users.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJbCWJNQUYI

Warning Explicit Material
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGaXj2MjfvM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0TBSssEqRg&feature=user
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G544gAWxEA&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkq8GO6izVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGfAu_HRz6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n98ZEJsSbbU

Wouldn't it harm users if YouTube took the hit? If YouTube got it, then it might go down, thus destroyed countless accounts, which YouTube has stored all into their database...

[Mousie]

What are you talking about? What do you mean if YouTube got the hit? YouTube already got the hit, they lost the lawsuit.

What I am trying to say is that Viacom does NOT have YouTube users information yet and that people are coming to conclusions way to fast. The whole "omg omg omg they're gonna see our logins, passwords, and all the vids we watched!"

I forgot to mention this earlier, but sure my link for tired may have been a networking site, but CNET as well as the link tired provided say the same thing.

Second to the third paragraph states:
"Viacom (http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/Viacom_Inc) said it isn't seeking any user's identity. The company said any data provided "will be used exclusively for the purpose of proving our case against YouTube and Google (and) will be handled subject to a court protective order and in a highly confidential manner.""

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

What are you talking about? What do you mean if YouTube got the hit? YouTube already got the hit, they lost the lawsuit.

What I am trying to say is that Viacom does NOT have YouTube users information yet and that people are coming to conclusions way to fast. The whole "omg omg omg they're gonna see our logins, passwords, and all the vids we watched!"

I forgot to mention this earlier, but sure my link for tired may have been a networking site, but CNET as well as the link tired provided say the same thing.

Second to the third paragraph states:
"Viacom (http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/Viacom_Inc) said it isn't seeking any user's identity. The company said any data provided "will be used exclusively for the purpose of proving our case against YouTube and Google (and) will be handled subject to a court protective order and in a highly confidential manner.""

Whether they use the informaton for determining our identity or not really isn't my concern. It is the direct violation of privacy laws, the fact that in western democracies you should be allowed to view anything you wish without a someone being allowed to pry into your business. It sets a dangerous precedence. And yes they don't have the information yet, because google has the option of appealing, and likely will.

[Nosferatu]

Has this been verified/was it from a good and proper source?

99% of companies who are pissed off about copyright go after whatever is distributing/showing it. Not the actual user/watcher/listener etc etc.

Tracking down 2 million youtube users and pressing charges would be more expensive, more time consuming and more pointless than going after youtube themselves.

Edit: Also....im pretty damn sure that its against youtube's policy to provide login information or IP addresses to a third party without explicit permission or a court order. ;) I only read the first post on this as its late here and im tired >.>...if this has been covered soz for the double post XD

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Has this been verified/was it from a good and proper source?

99% of companies who are pissed off about copyright go after whatever is distributing/showing it. Not the actual user/watcher/listener etc etc.

Tracking down 2 million youtube users and pressing charges would be more expensive, more time consuming and more pointless than going after youtube themselves.

Edit: Also....im pretty damn sure that its against youtube's policy to provide login information or IP addresses to a third party without explicit permission or a court order. ;) I only read the first post on this as its late here and im tired >.>...if this has been covered soz for the double post XD

Um ya it's been on pretty much every major news outlet in the world.

[Mousie]

Has this been verified/was it from a good and proper source?

99% of companies who are pissed off about copyright go after whatever is distributing/showing it. Not the actual user/watcher/listener etc etc.

Tracking down 2 million youtube users and pressing charges would be more expensive, more time consuming and more pointless than going after youtube themselves.

Edit: Also....im pretty damn sure that its against youtube's policy to provide login information or IP addresses to a third party without explicit permission or a court order. ;) I only read the first post on this as its late here and im tired >.>...if this has been covered soz for the double post XD

I would strongly suggest you read my and tired's posts XD

[DesecratioN]

Pretty *self censored* weak if you ask me (I hate the fact that this section is pg-13)

As stated why not target the uploaders... instead now they are just infringing upon milliosn of users...

[Nosferatu]

Oops...my bad XD

I read the first post and commented on it without reading...i really need to break that habit >.<

[tsunade ^_^]

wth!? I vlog on YouTube..how is it I'm only hearing about this crap now?
So this whole topic is telling me I can get my YouTube account banned just because I watched a 3 second southpark clip? Wtf is this bs??

I agree. I havent downloaded jack from there + the same here. Watch peoples funny kak they post I agree with Owen that Viacom should go after Google and not the users. But I highly doubt that they'll go after the users for it will take up too much time and time is munnny!!!

Anyhoo If it is true, I doubt that theyl get to meee hehehehe :p

Souf Africa be pLetty farrrrr