[A2k] Google must divulge YouTube log

[Riaz K Tayob]

Google must divulge YouTube log
Google
Google owns video site YouTube

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.

Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the
ruling a "set-back to privacy rights".

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.

Legal action

When it initiated legal action in March 2007 the firm said it had
identified about 160,000 unauthorised clips of its programmes on the
website, which had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.

Following the launch of its billion-dollar lawsuit, YouTube introduced
filtering tools in an effort to prevent copyright materials from
appearing on the site.

The US court declined Viacom's request that Google be forced to hand
over the source code of YouTube, saying it was a "trade secret" that
should not be disclosed.

But it said privacy concerns expressed by Google about handing over the
log were "speculative".

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

Viacom said it wanted the data to "compare the attractiveness of
allegedly infringing video with that of non-infringing videos."

'Erroneous ruling'

The EFF said: "The Court's erroneous ruling is a set-back to privacy
rights, and will allow Viacom to see what you are watching on YouTube.

"We urge Viacom to back off this overbroad request and Google to take
all steps necessary to challenge this order and protect the rights of
its users."

The body said the ruling was also potentially unlawful because the log
data did contain personally identifiable data.

The court also ruled that Google disclose to Viacom the details of all
videos that have been removed from the site for any reason.

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