Viacom/YouTube battle threatens to trample web user's privacy

Jonathan Bowers, July 4th 2008, 2:05PM

This week a US court delivered a landmark ruling that raises questions about internet users’ rights to privacy. The ruling comes from the high-profile and very bitter legal dispute between YouTube and Viacom.

In case you are not familiar with the case here is the background.

US broadcasting company Viacom alleges that YouTube infringes its copyright law by allowing parts of its programmes (such as the Late Show with Jon Stewart) to be shown on the YouTube website.

To prove its case Viacom had asked the US courts to grant it access to YouTube’s data. In response YouTube’s owner Google argued that granting this request would compromise end-user’s privacy.

So which got its way? Both and neither it seems!

This week Judge Louis Stanton from the New York district court ruled that Viacom can have “full access” to the YouTube logs. However he rejected Viacom’s request to see the YouTube source code.

So limited access has been granted. Does this represent a well balanced decision? Google, not surprisingly, is not happy and to be fair I think it has a point. Although the US courts have denied access to certain data it is not clear what end user information will be exposed.

The logs to be divulged include information on when each video gets played. However, attached to each entry is each viewer's unique login ID and the Internet Protocol address for that viewer's computer.

Viacom says it will not see this information but as Google is still petitioning to mask the personal data, this aspect of the situation is clearly not yet fully resolved.

The key point is not whether Viacom wants to see this data or not. It is that it may be afforded access to it anyway by the US courts and that sets a troubling precedent.

Upholding user privacy is vital for the continued viability of the internet. If users think that their personal data may be accessed either directly or as a by-product of lawsuits and alike then confidence in the internet will take a hit and that would be a hugely detrimental development.

Tags: viacom, google, internet, video, youtube
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Back tracking on YouTube

Jonathan Bowers, March 2nd 2007, 12:44PM

Literally moments after I posted the last blog, I noticed a story on the UKFast website which reveals another big content provider deal for YouTube. The BBC has signed a deal to create at least 2 dedicated channels on the site.

They plan to show short clips from top rated programmes such as Dr Who and Life on Mars but also create dedicated content such as tours of the Dr Who set by star actor David Tennant.

I'm interested to see who opts in and who opts out over the next few months as in many ways this could dictate both the fortunes and direction of YouTube.

Tags: broadcasters, youtube
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YouTube a short term phenomenon?

Jonathan Bowers, March 2nd 2007, 12:23PM

Viacom's announcement that traffic is substantially up on its various video content sites is dangerous news for YouTube, which was instructed to remove all content belonging to the media producer just over a month ago.

According to Google Trends it's less than a year since YouTube's traffic overtook that of MTV, Viacom's most successful website.

The big question is, how long would it be before the trend reversed back again if all content providers demanded their content be pulled, leaving only user generated video on the site. There's obviously a huge mix of content on the site but a quick glance at the most viewed videos on there at the moment indicates that seven out of the top ten are big studio music videos, broadcasted animations or televised content. Two of the remaining three are adverts, most likely posted by the brand themselves and only one of the top ten is user generated.

A worst case scenario would be a YouTube where 66% of the viewed content is adverts. How long would YouTube last?

Obviously, YouTube has put some deals in place to make sure this is not so, but would it be such a bad thing if YouTube were to revert back to user generated content as its mainstay? Afterall, that's what made its name.

Tags: viacom, video, youtube
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The US Government is on YouTube

Jonathan Bowers, September 26th 2006, 10:31AM

We have been talking for a while about the importance of businesses placing themselves in the same arenas online that their target audiences appear in and the US Office of National Drug Control Policy has done just that by getting itself a YouTube page.

They've uploaded their tv ads and are getting a respectable amount of hits. One video has been watched by over 10,000 people in the last week. That's people actually choosing to click on and view.

As well as the tv ads they have filmed a conference discussing the rate of teenage drug use reducing. However, the video - displayed in 3 parts reveals a naivety in the system. YouTube orders from the most recent downward and so, it highlights part 3 of the report above the other two. The result is over 2000 views for part 3, less than half this for part one and only 367 views for part 2. Does this suggest that the whole thing is not worth sitting through? Or simply indicate the time restrictions we face in reaching this audience? After all - the adverts are 30 seconds long, while the reports weigh in at 4 or 5 minutes a go.

It's a big step though and I would say it will prompt similar moves from public sectors across the world. I wonder whether the private sector will be as transparent in their involvement?

Tags: white_house_online, tvads, youtube
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