Remember that $1 billion lawsuit Viacom filed against YouTube, and by extension, Google? Well, a big ruling just came down. No, not a verdict, of course, the case has been going for only about a year, now. The verdict in question specifies what information Viacom is entitled to as part of the discovery process.
The judge denied some of the more absurd requests (all of Google's source code, YouTube's source code, every private video ever uploaded). Unfortunately, Viacom is still getting plenty to make mischief with.
Viacom is entitled to receive a copy of every video removed for any reason (be it porn or piracy) to make the case that YouTube is not just a safe harbor for piracy, but rather is fueled by them. The second concession is worse:
A 12TB database containing logging information on every video ever watched at YouTube. The database will also show which username and IP address watched every video, a move with potential privacy implications.
Leaving aside the fairly likely possibility that Viacom, like RIAA, will use this information to sue and settle with users who viewed pirated content, this concession would be a substantial violation of the users' privacy. The videos an 'anonymous' user watches should not be tabulated and turned over. This concession will curtail viewings and creativity on sharing websites if every view is logged and may come back to haunt you. Employers already peruse Facebook profiles, information that is willingly uploaded by users. Making it possible to request viewing logs without reason is a step in the wrong direction. Google should appeal and defy this order.
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