Lesson from Viacom: How to Get YouTube Users to Hate Your Guts

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Lauren Weinstein [lauren () vortex com]
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 9:12 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Lesson from Viacom: How to Get YouTube Users to Hate Your Guts

        Lesson from Viacom: How to Get YouTube Users to Hate Your Guts

                http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000400.html


Greetings.  When a large corporation shows a lack of respect for the
public, it shouldn't be surprised if the public at large shows an
increasing disrespect for them.  The media giant Viacom seems well
on the way toward providing the world with an object lesson of how
to take an already bad situation and stab oneself in the heart with
it.

By now you've probably heard that Viacom has convinced a judge to
order that Google turn over comprehensive records of who watches
which videos on YouTube ( http://tinyurl.com/59lt2x ).  We're
talking tens of terabytes of log data, apparently.  Viacom claims
that since only "made up" login names are involved, and IP addresses
that (at least in the case of dynamic addresses -- statics are
another matter) don't directly map to individuals without additional
data from ISPs, there are no privacy concerns.

This is bull of course.  I assume Viacom has smart enough technical
people involved in their ongoing battle with YouTube to know that
there are a variety of ways in which those frequently interlinked
login names, and even dynamic IP addresses that may be stable for
months at a time or longer, can be used to dig down to the point
where fully-identified dossiers of viewing habits would be entirely
feasible.  And video viewing habits are among the most personal of
entertainment choices that we make.

Is it likely that this order will be narrowed or otherwise diluted
on appeal, and/or that Google and Viacom will agree to additional
anonymization of the log data?  Yeah, probably one or more of these
could happen.  Do I wish that Google would keep less log data around
that attracts these sorts of obnoxious and dangerous fishing
expeditions from various private and governmental entities?  Yes,
that too, though I recognize the complexity of the issues involved
in determining what log data to keep, for how long, and on what
basis.

But right now my contempt is reserved for Viacom's modus operandi in
this case -- their demanding that all YouTube users' activities be
stripped bare, including video viewing that has nothing whatever to
do with Viacom programs, so that Viacom can continue their attempt
to blame their business model worries on kids uploading clips to
YouTube after school.

I frequently note that I have sympathy for intellectual property
holders who feel at a loss in the brave new world of the Internet.
The times are changing rapidly and many of the old rules -- however
much some observers might pine for them -- are becoming ineffective
and impossible to effectively transpose into the Internet
environment.  This is true whether or not Viacom and Google reach a
financial settlement, and would still be the case even if YouTube
shut down completely.  The materials of concern to Viacom would
migrate elsewhere on the Net, probably in a form even more difficult
for Viacom to categorize.

I'll admit that much of the respect that I ever had for Viacom was
seriously depleted several years ago, when one of their shows tried
to trick me into appearing in a humilating situation under false
pretenses ( http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000065.html).  But hey,
that's Hollywood, and nobody would have been affected other than me.

But now Viacom is showing disrespect not for a few individuals, but
for vast numbers -- untold millions one assumes -- of innocent
YouTube users.  That's a poison of a different color all together.

If Viacom's goal is to create legions of otherwise law-abiding
consumers who might now feel some satisfaction out of pirating
Viacom shows -- just to spite Viacom's intrusive actions in this
case ... well ... judging from the scuttlebutt around the Net,
Viacom may have succeeded in a way that could haunt them for quite
some time to come.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
   - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com



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