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July 7, 2008
Google Adds Privacy Link in Wake of Viacom Ruling; YouTube Addresses Privacy Issues
Recently, Google has been resisting calls to add a privacy link to their home page, saying searchers can simply type "Google privacy policy" in the search box to find the info. Plus, they didn't want to mess up that beautiful front page - well, except for links to advertising and business solutions that will bring them money.
But the search giant has finally caved and added the 7 letter word to its page with a link to the policy. And as John Paczkowski points out at AllThingsD, the link just happened to go up just after a judge ruled that Google has to hand over YouTube user logs in a suit brought against it by Viacom.
Meanwhile, YouTube addressed the ruling on its blog. While they're planning on complying with the ruling, they are working with Viacom lawyers to remove at least some of the information they'll be handing over:
Of course, we have to follow legal process. But since IP addresses and usernames aren't necessary to determine general viewing practices, our lawyers have asked their lawyers to let us remove that information before we hand over the data they're seeking. (You should know, IP addresses identify a computer, not the person using it. It's not possible to determine your identity solely based on your IP address. Rather, an IP address can reveal what geographic area you're connecting from, or which Internet service provider you're using.)
What do you think of Google's move to put the privacy link on the homepage? How about YouTube's decision to comply with the law? Fire off in the comments!
Related Reading:
If You Give Google a Cookie
Google: A Clear & Present Danger to Corporate Data Privacy
Google Privacy Practices Under Attack
Google Defends Data-Retention Practices
Posted by Nathania Johnson at July 7, 2008 11:09 AM
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Comments
Hi All:
If you've ever watched a video on YouTube, you should know that Viacom could identify you through this data. This order opens the door for corporations to use our private records at their will and without our consent. Tell Google to defy the court ruling and to refuse to hand over our records to Viacom. Sign this petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/912395622?z00m=15670232
Posted by: Ladona at July 7, 2008 4:03 PM
As the songwriter Tom Waits once wrote, the large print giveth, and the small print taketh away. And so it is with company privacy policies. They all purport to protect your "personal information" (large print), but at the same time claim exemptions when required by law (small print).
And that law - the real elephant in the room in these discussions - is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Content carriers (evil or not) will in the end always give up the goods on their users, since that's the clearest way to deflect liability.
It's simply naive to think that because a company exhibits a privacy policy that your personal information is protected. Given the egregious imbalances in the DMCA, that's like expecting a "private property" sign to keep the jackboots out of your house in a police state.
Posted by: Nick DiGiacomo at July 7, 2008 5:55 PM
