Viacom opts to ‘back off’ YouTube demand

July 16, 2008

Viacom has reportedly ‘backed off’ from its demands of divulging the viewing habits of each and every user who has happened to watch a video on YouTube. Google, the owners of YouTube, had been ordered to furnish personal details of all those millions of YouTube users for allowing Viacom to build its case on the alleged copyright infringement. Google will now hand over the necessary database but without crucial data, which could identify users.

Viacom has a (£497m ($1bn) copyright infringement lawsuit pending against Google. A class action by other bodies comprising the English Premier League (EPL) has also agreed to the new terms. A statement on the YouTube website mentioned:

We are pleased to report that Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for all users’ viewing histories and we will not be providing that information.

The decision will especially be welcomed by privacy activists, several of whom had expressed concern over an order from a US judge against Google, asking the firm to furnish the data in early July.

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