Youtube are watching YOU

You know you should, but how often do you really read the terms and conditions when you visit a website? Whether it’s a personal email account, an online auction house or a gambling website, few people take the trouble to trawl through the often extensive T&Cs when they sign up. After all, if it’s a legitimate site, well-known and with a good reputation, there should be nothing to worry about, right?

Wrong. In a pre-trial ruling last week, The Register reports, a federal judge ordered Google to hand over all its existing records of every video viewed on YouTube. This information includes user account names and IP addresses.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/03/google_to_turn_over_youtube_database/

The case centres around a $1bn lawsuit brought by Viacom, the US media conglomerate, against Youtube. Viacom alleges that the popular video-sharing website has allowed users to upload massive amounts copyrighted material onto its site, thereby hitting Viacom’s revenue while earning advertising revenue for YouTube.

One of the most interesting aspects of this case is what it reveals about Internet users’ privacy and anonymity. It turns out that YouTube keeps extensive records of all its users’ viewing histories, including individual IP addresses. Internet (IP) addresses are generally considered to be personally identifiable information, given that they can be linked to a particular household and, potentially, with an individual person. So, in theory, anyone in possession of the 12TB of YouTube user data could identify all the videos you’ve ever watched on the site. Isn’t this illegal? Unethical?

Self-proclaimed “privacy advocates” may turn puce with rage at the thought, but YouTube’s retention of this data is perfectly legitimate. Their privacy policy clearly states that the company “may record information about your usage,” and adds: “If you are logged in, we may associate that information with your account.” By giving users clear notification of the terms of service, YouTube have remained within both the letter and the spirit of privacy law.

Of course, YouTube isn’t the only company that holds records of user data. Internet Services Providers (ISPs), search engines and e-commerce sites together hold huge amounts of often sensitive personal information, including our names, addresses, phone numbers and even credit card numbers.

The really frightening thing is that companies can be forced by law to hand over the data they hold to government agencies. Under Title V of the Patriot Act, for example, the United States government can force companies, including Internet Services Providers, to hand over data pertaining to individuals to aid investigation against suspected terrorists in The War Against Terror (T.W.A.T.).

The YouTube case is instructive for anyone concerned about their online privacy. Last week’s ruling highlights the fact that any company that holds your data – no matter how responsible they may be – can be forced to relinquish that data by the courts.