Google Agrees To Give Up User Data On YouTube
There is a very interesting Business Week article published this morning about Google’s settlement yesterday and agreement to turn over user data to Viacom lawyers.
The title of the article sets the tone right off the bat… “MTV isn’t being evil…. Google, on the other hand.”
The article points out Google’s spin machine is claiming victory being they are allowed to hide some identifying user data in their logs they are handing over. (and looking at the comments everyone is thanking Google for protecting their rights).
But… Business Week points out that Google is trying to save its own ass by turning this into a user privacy issue:
The thinly veiled implication of YouTube’s statement is that Viacom wanted to do bad things with users’ data. Perhaps, it planned to follow the music industry’s example: tracing IP addresses to deliver lawsuits to everyone who watched Jon Stewart online.
But, here’s the reality. Viacom isn’t interested in suing YouTube users. Honestly, Viacom may not even be all that interested in suing Google.
Ultimately, Viacom wants to be paid what it thinks is a fair value for its content. That means proving to Google, the courts, and everyone else that the content Viacom spends millions to create draws audiences and advertisers in a way that user home movies don’t.
Its a interesting case to follow.
So thats the spin from Google but what is in this for Viacom (MTV) ?
Despite how Google makes Viacom appear, it’s not out to get users. Moreover, Google is not a hero of user privacy. It collects the data in the first place, in part, to personalize the YouTube experience and, in part, to sell ads. Viacom wants the data, ultimately, for a similar purpose: to generate more online advertising revenue.
While the Viacom/Google war might be coming to a end soon Google has many more people coming for it via YouTube.
- 41 Comments. What say you?
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Interesting
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Don’t be evil.
I personally don’t mind google collecting my data or I wouldn’t be using gmail.
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I still find it very unsettling that a judge would order Google to give Viacom that information. It is like the Patriot Act. Any information that someone wants they are going to get it.
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Aslong as they masked all the data and made it anonymous then I’m happy.
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I suppose the lawyers of the world are all doing backflips over the many more opportunities for their services now that we have the Internet. Besides chasing ambulances and looking for people who want to file bankruptcy or sue drug manufacturers, the Internet has opened a whole new playing field for lawyers. Whole new depts for law colleges.
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If I wanted Viacom to have my information I would give it to them!
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It is over 5 billion single spaced pages of data. Would take them a few years to go through it all.
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by the title, they are saying that Google is evil, lol…these days seems that everyone sues google for whatever reason. what’s next ?
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That should shut down some illegal materials..
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Wonder if this is going ot be one of those landmark points in history…
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yeah that’s probably unlikely…
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Be careful if you’ve named your private videos “Jeremy’s Schoemaker’s Donkey Show”.
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Viacom entering the online ads business…interesting!
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That’s interesting and I already read about this in a local tech magazine, but what I heard that google will provide Youtube users info as usernames, IPs, videos uploaded, is that true?
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haha that’s funny seeing people saying thanks youtube for protecting my privacy! WTF is that, Youtube should protect our privacy because we are using their services while they make big bucks from us.
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Thats not a google way.
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I don’t think this will have a big effect on Google/Youtube.
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Jeremy, I recently performed an infrastructure upgrade project at Google Headquarters in Mountain View California. As the Senior Project Manager, we gutted the Charlie’s cafe and Media Kitchen rooms and started fresh with all new HD-Video conferencing and broadcast facilities, Control Room, and Final Cut Pro Editing using Mac’s and a SAN Storage solution. Google people are really nice, and Charlie’s cafe made me fat. Since I have just launched my affiliate business, I am keeping tabs on Google trends to see if I can make a dollar or two. I see from your recent photo, you have mastered this process handily. To your continued success! Nicholas Chase
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yeah it actually doesn’t matter. privacy everywhere is being invaded
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The decision in this case will have a very long range effect on business.
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In a way it is, considering Gmail is pretty much going through all your emails secretly!
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I agree with you on that point to a certain degree considering that its more online based with internet banking and such but when something is visible that takes place such as this it makes us feel as though our privacy is violated even though it probably is violated on a daily basis. Its just that we dont tend to see it that way.
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Greed and small-minded people amazes me. However, honesty is not an honorable quality.
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If you use Google’s products your data is theirs. Why do you think they are so keen to give away oodles of online data storage space for free (inter alia)
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Are you for real?
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Not so secretly, actually. The targeted ads displayed next to your email message proves that bit.
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internet banking and such but when something is visible that takes place such as this it makes
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I trust all of my data with google. A company this good can’t possible go wrong.
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What is the problem with data sharing.I agree that google may go wrong and some may use the personal data but that case is 1 in a million so i would rather go for it
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Data sharing is one thing, but private and personal information and user data should remain just that. One could very easily be branded as an undesirable, and singled out for special attention by the authorities. You don’t want to be listed as a terrorist for merely viewing a “how to make a pipe bomb” clip on YouTube because of morbid curiousity, now do you?
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Let this be a warning to all internet users. Your online habits are not private at all, so beware of what you download!
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Highly unlikely!
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Your statement is true, but apathy towards this will eventually see lots of our freedoms being restricted or taken away altogether. Non-action will lead to incarceration…..think about that!
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This is sorta sad. I wish they didnt have to do this for viacom.
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Yes it is!
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Wouldn’t that be funny? Viacom gets the data after paying all those court fees and then they get nothing.
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No this is bad news
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You know what? I totally agree. Why should Google be sued for every kid out there who taped some movie and publishes it just to show off?
Give’em Google!
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Nice Post…
Thnx For Sharing…http://www.pcdrome.com
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I totally agree. At this point you really just have to assume that any information you give out, whether it is explicitly submitted through forms or implicitly submitted through user actions, is going to be farmed and either sold, used in-house, or obtained via subpoena.
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Yeah, that’s kind of a huge problem with this sort of information disclosure… there is no associated context, so the guy clicking on the link by accident and the guy clicking on the link to pirate movies are going to be lumped together in the same bucket.
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