VIACOM WINS RIGHT TO ACCESS YOUTUBE RECORDS

July 6, 2008

Google has been ordered to surrender the data of users that watch YouTube videos, including videos streamed on other websites, to Viacom. The ruling was made by Judge Stanton of the federal court for the Southern District of New York. YouTube user data now available to Viacom includes usernames, videos viewed and IP addresses, which Viacom can use to identify some individuals through ISPs – making users potentially liable for copyrighted material they consumed, the same way the RIAA pursued peer-to-peer file sharers. […]