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YouTube, Viacom Agree to Mask Viewership Data

Posted on: Thursday, 17 July 2008, 09:00 CDT

Video-sharing Web site YouTube will shield the identities of users when it hands over viewer data to Viacom, according to an agreement made public on Wednesday.

In addition, the agreement stipulates that Viacom and the other companies involved in a one-billion-dollar copyright-infringement lawsuit will not circumvent YouTube's encryption in order to reveal identities, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Privacy and Internet experts said the case underscores the immense amount of information online companies collect and retain about users.

Earlier this month, search giant Google, which owns YouTube, was ordered by a federal judge to release the information. The company, though, resisted because of privacy concerns.

Under the agreement, YouTube will be allowed to substitute user identification, Internet addresses and other personal data before giving information to Viacom as is required under the July 1 court order.

"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," YouTube said in a post on its site's blog.

In a statement, Viacom spokesman Jeremy Zweig said the YouTube data will spotlight how the Web site "has used copyrighted material to build its business."

Kurt Opsahl, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, believes privacy will be protected " so long as the agreement is not modified."

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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