Standing in the way of control!

In a recent ruling a Court has ordered Google to hand over the viewing habits of Youtube users. This spells trouble for internet privacy since many users’ identities might become known.

From Timesonline:

Google has been ordered to hand over details of YouTube users’ viewing habits by a judge presiding over a copyright infringement case against the site.

Viacom, the parent company of MTV, filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the video-sharing site last March. It demanded that Google, which owns YouTube, should hand over data about how people use the site, arguing that the information would show that copyright-protected material was routinely posted and watched.

Judge Louis Stanton of the US District Court granted the request, ordering Google to divulge details of every video clip uploaded to the site, along with viewers’ YouTube usernames and IP addresses.

An IP address identifies individual computers connected to the internet but cannot be linked to a name or address without the help of an internet service provider. YouTube usernames may identify individuals if people have signed up using their own names..

See also: eff.org

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