youtube REQUIRED to turn over user lists

I doubt they would go after the viewers of the videos, but more likely the persons who uploaded the videos as google defense is they (google) can't be held responsible for what people post, they can only delete the offending videos.

My opinion:

what the guidelines for sites like youTube, Google, etc etc should be is to record the behavior in a obscure sense so that they can use it for their ads, but delete the personal information such as IP addresses and user names of the watchers. Therefore its anonymous on what/who sees what. I mean even uncle sam can see what books you check out from the library, but we should have a right to privacy. What's on the internet (at least what hasn't been taken down yet) and in library is to be considered public knowledge. And one's search records, one's watching and surf records should be part of that person's private life, not multimillion dollar companies that have the ability to expose every single person who seen a Rick Roll video (as Titen-Sxull mention before) and call them out for being Gay or something stupid (bad example but trying to make a point)

Perhaps the larger question here is: why does YouTube need to maintain a list of every video we've ever watched on its servers in the first place? I can understand maintaining them for limited periods for things like hit tracking and ad revenue trends, etc. But permanent histories? I don't recall ever being informed that that was happening when I sampled their website.

Will Google comply with the order? Good question. It's already being speculated that if it does users will file a massive class action suit against Google in retaliation, and they'd be right to do so.

from OP's linked source

If this happens then all is not lost as that may teach other companies from retaining personal info in the future.
Personally I doubt they can sue ppl from watching or even downloading videos. Obviously uploading copyrighted material is another story.

If this deal comes to fruition, there will be alot of pissed off youtubers out there. Myself included.

Hypothetically speaking. If I have uploaded a couple songs to youtube will I now be sued? Even if I took said songs down soon after posting them?

reply to post by Marid Audran


yeah that's not really an article.. its a blog.. so pretty much a few facts and his take on the situation... its suspect about the suing ppl based on what they've watched.. not whats actually happening.. id imagine whatever the reasons "they" want it.. the real reasons are going to be kept secret.. it's a legal mess... I can't see how it would be possible to charge someone based on something they've watched even if it was illegal... unless you have it stored on your computer or something.. but im no legal expert

scary stuff... very interesting thread OP thanks for bring this to everyones attention

Originally posted by Celor
If this deal comes to fruition, there will be alot of pissed off youtubers out there. Myself included.

Hypothetically speaking. If I have uploaded a couple songs to youtube will I now be sued? Even if I took said songs down soon after posting them?

I think the problem is it's all recorded more than likely.. so even if you took them down im sure if they can prove you uploaded them in the first place that will be the basis of the charge maybe? I dont think you have much to worry about.. maybe more on the side of a scare tactic as a last ditch effort to scare off people from that sort of activity.. if they really wanted to stop it they'd just do it and deal with the litigation being that it's apparently on their side.. there has to be something we're not seeing or is being kept from us intentionally.. who knows..

im not too worried about this although a bit scary

reply to post by Marid Audran


This is extremely ridiculous and bad, this is horrible. Losing even our internet privacy? O well, if this is the life we begin to live we must get ready for the largest Civil War, lol.

Big Brother is indeed watching us. Talk about irony. I became aware of this issue as a fan of the silly reality show Big Brother. Last week all the fan sites were issued cease and desist orders from Real Networks (Real Player) to stop linking to YouTube videos of recording of the live feeds from inside the Big Brother house. The YouTube subscribers who uploaded the Big Brother feed clips were told their accounts would be suspended if they continued to link their videos. I wonder if this is somehow connected to this lawsuit?

Just a reminder:

The Internet was originally conceived by Big Brother to transmit information that could not be picked up by the Russians during the Cold war by sperating the information into packets....

Then (once they created a better method) our "trustowrthy" government handed it over for public use.

"NO ACTIVITY THAT YOU TAKE PART IN ON THE INTERNET IS PRIVATE"

Beyond that, all hardware used to access the internet must pass FCC inspection, so if our government wants a backdoor to everything they can easily make it a requirement.

YOU"VE BE WARNED.....

"The SmallAxe"

Originally posted by Shaker
I think they're going about it the wrong way, if someone uploads a copyrighted movie or whatever, yeah go after them. Not the people that watch it. On a site like YouTube where you watch videos for free, how can the end user be punished for watching something someone else proveded and YouTube allowed to be shown?

I may be wrong, though I don't think this is their intent. Your scenario here may be their cover, though I asure you that if they are getting this information it has nothing to do with copyright laws or infringement, and everything to do with "national security." Ha, not that that's what it is, it should be illegal, though they want to know who's watching the "zeitgeists" or the "loose change" or the "anti-america" films that they perceive them to be. Pretty much any video that underminds the governments disinformation programs I.e. Commission reports..

The original article used in this thread is at least one month old. If you check the date it was originally reported on 3 July this year


Since then , I think that there has been a compromise of some sort in which browsing and viewing history on youtube wont be handed over , nor will IP addresses -

As reported on Guardian.co.uk on 15 July -

Google has now agreed to provide Viacom, and a class action group led by the FA Premier League, with a version of a YouTube viewership database that removes user name and IP data that would identify individual users.

Google and Viacom reach deal over YouTube user data

They are going to have a huge number of possible lawsuits if that's the case (obviously), Apologize on youtube has 62 million views lol.

they are gonna be pissed when they figure out what i've been watching!!! i guess it's time to change my ip address daily now!

This story is a bit old. YouTube and Viacom have since worked out a deal to anonymize the user names, so you don't have to worry about them getting any information about you personally. BUT, the deal was VOLUNTARY on Viacom's part. They could have gotten the user names if they wanted them. And you have to wonder why YouTube is keeping this data in the first place. Patriot act?

glad I removed those vids of my How to segments, Im sure I'd have NSA knocking at my door, well Breaking down my door claiming Imma Terrorist becuz Im creative an showed others how to make a variety of things. Welp, thank god for Proxies. I can be from Japan, China, Moon, Mars, NSA headquaters LOL

Proxy it up people, its your biggest iron curtain in your hands.

It has to do with MONEY!!!

The movie industry are/is losing a lot of money because of their dinosaur business model, similar to what the united states is experiencing.

As the dinosaur sinks in to the tar it'll start throwing around it's arms and legs to avoid going under.

Expect this type of behavior

They want you to be in fear of prosecution.


The best way would be to Boycott Viacom and the rest of them ...

Don't buy there stuff - and ask other to do the same

The way i see it, this has no effect at all. Government already knows everyones identity, location ip addresses everything.Everything is monitored, This is just for show. Just another step in the greater scheme, of phasing out rights of the people in a public manner. The last true place for "free speech" , and the practice of other rights exist is being slowly destroyed. Ridiculous how easy government , and the higher powers think they can get away with all this. Almost like they are testing the general population to see what the reaction is on violating certain rights, when in reality its just a cover for what the government is already doing. It seems that because they are diminishing peoples rights at a slow pace, piece by piece, that the majority of people seem to let it pass by. Not realizing that in reality, freedom is an illusion, and any form of privacy and rights of the people actually do not exist.
[edit on 2-8-2008 by aLinkToThePast]

[edit on 2-8-2008 by aLinkToThePast]

Originally posted by lagnar
Nothing short of a full-scale revolution will get our country back, but indeed, the U.S. Government knows it rules a nation of cowards, yet I assure you they'll not get me or mine

Whew, thats a close one, for a moment there I thought this was about youtube and google (those things ont he WORLD WIDE web) and not the US.

Almost panicked!!