Viacom knows you watched this video

UPDATE, JULY 15, 2008:

The information in this video is no longer true or relevant. According to the YouTube blog, "Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for all users' viewing histories and we will not be providing that information. ... In addition, Viacom and the plaintiffs had originally demanded access to users' private videos, our search technology, and our video identification technology. Our lawyers strongly opposed each of those demands and the court sided with us."

This is great news, and hopefully some of the pressure that we all put on Viacom and Judge Stanton had something to do with the reversal.

More info is on the YouTube blog:
http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=AnA3ulGpWsE

So, again, the video is no longer relevant, which is why I'm turning off comments. Listed below is the original description, which you can now ignore.

===================================

Protest the decision:
http://www.petitiononline.com/privacy9/petition.html

The judge in the Viacom v. YouTube/Google case has just ordered that YouTube/Google turn over records of every viewing of every video since the site launched.

That includes your private user data of every video you have watched.

New York Times article:
http://tinyurl.com/5td7hr

Is it time to boycott Viacom? Or is it time to stop watching YouTube (to protect our privacy)?

UPDATE: YouTube responds on their blog:
http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=Gh2N9xyKK8k

UPDATE TWO: Since recording this, I've realized that my anger is misplaced. Viacom can ask for whatever they want, the real villain here is the judge who agreed with them, rather than follow the U.S. constitution's privacy provisions. Any protests should be focussed on the judge and the ruling (in a peaceful, non-violent, and legal manner, of course).

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• youtube
• viacom
• copyright
• lawsuit
• google
• videos
• users
• private
• information
• kenrg

[DaBossk]

the internet is the only place your still free, don't fucking touch it you trillion dollar rich douche bags!

[EditRealityGaming]

What the hell is with all these damn companies? WMG, and now viacom. Why the hell cant they leave youtube alone. We dont steal from them, they steal from us. Im tired of them, they always seem to own EVERYTHING, yet they want to stifle a free website. How can they seriously fit that in their buisness plan. It must be next to their plan for world domination I assume

[ThaigerDon]

i've been watching doug, are you afraid of the dark, tales from the crypt, johnny bravo, reboot, and more but i can't recall ever watching a viacom show, in fact there is none. get it? the entity that has power over media makes none of it's own. in fact none of the children who would watch any of these shows has a clue what viacom is, or that it even exists.

whether a judge reversed his decision or not is irrelevant. we need to begin cutting out the middleman. before viacom starts suing kids

[ThaigerDon]

i really couldn't give a shit about what they know i've been watching. i'm just massively insulted this happened without me knowing about this, since it happened before i woke up. youtube was built upon the backs of the people; from the people that thought up the very concept of youtube to the people that make the actual video even to the people that comment. viacom does NOT have a monopoly over the entertainment industry, and they will sink for thinking along these lines.

[iscirc99]

@EditRealityGaming AGREE I CANT WAIT TELL YOUTUBE TAKES A STAND AND FUCKING YOU KNOW STANDS UP TO GAY WMG AND COCK SUCKING VIACOM

[Cire605PSN]

Viacom can suck my big dick just shuv it up there mouth

[theYTPmaster100]

With Viacom, it's like before America got it's independence!!!

[CHILEPERU17]

@CHILEPERU17 lmfao ..my friend wrote that .

[Zeugirdor994]

@CHILEPERU17

That'd certainly be an interesting war...

[Phil1stalk]

Yeh, and WHO owns Viacom?

EXACTLY!

[adidassoccercleats]

@CHILEPERU17 dude ur a fail! tryin to get likes for no reason~ ! ~