Judge Kills Privacy Rights for YouTube Users

Raising major concerns among privacy advocates, a federal judge has ordered Google to hand over details about the viewing habits of YouTube users to media giant Viacom. The ruling came as part of a $1-billion copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Viacom in March 2007 against YouTube and its corporate parent, Google.

Viacom, which runs cable networks such as MTV and Comedy Central as well as the Paramount Pictures movie studio, says it needs the data about how people use the site to show that its copyright-protected material -- such as clips from “South Park" and “The Colbert Report" was routinely posted and watched.

Viacom vowed to not use the information it receives from YouTube against any users of the video-sharing site. But the ruling immediately prompted an outcry from privacy watchdogs. Google had fought the request for Viacom to gain access to its viewing logs, saying such a measure would invade its users' privacy. U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton in New York disagreed, ordering the Mountain View, Calif., Internet giant to hand over the records, which include log-on names and Internet protocol addresses -- the unique identifier for computers and other Web-connected devices. In most cases, Viacom would need the help of an Internet service provider to identify individuals.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation described the ruling as a “setback to privacy rights" that “threatens to expose deeply private information." The group said the ruling would “allow Viacom to see what you are watching on YouTube," and it urged 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."