TimmyHGooglePrivacy
July 9th 2008 07:26
Privacy experts have long been warning Google that it stores too much information about its users. But consumers could have the upper-hand following a recent copyright infringement lawsuit in the US.
“From the privacy perspective we're feeling like we've got a big, 'I told you so,' “ said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
As part of Vaicom’s $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton ordered Google to disclose recods showing which users watched particular videos on YouTube. Viacom intends to use the information to show that users worldwide are frequently viewing pirated material.
Some information, also turned over by order of the court, includes YouTube users’ IP addresses which privacy advocates say is personally identifiable because it can be used to discover people’s names.
Google has justified its possession of the information by saying it allows their algorithms to improve the quality of its code and also to guard against “click fraud.” Although Google has reportedly maintained strict controls over users personal information, advocates have long been warning that litigation might bypass their security measures.
“Google keeps too much data about their users,” Rotenberg says. “There will be circumstances such as discovery orders and search warrants where Google will have to turn that data over.”
The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), a digital rights group has condemned the decision, calling it a setback for privacy and has subsequently encouraged Google to fight the case.
A lawyer with the Foundation, Kurt Opsahl, told Online Media Daily Thursday that the organization is weighing whether to get involved. “A motion to intervene is certainly possible,” he said. “We're considering all options, but have not yet decided on the best course of action.”
Google has said that despite not challenging the court decision, they will stil endeavour to protect the rights of users.
“We will be asking Viacom to respect users' privacy and allow us to anonymize the logs before producing them under the court's order,” Google senior litigation counsel Catherine Lacavera said.
But users’ identities can still be discovered if they have used their real name in registration details. A similar case in 2006 saw the New York Times discover the identity of an AOL user and wrote a profile of her within days.
“From the privacy perspective we're feeling like we've got a big, 'I told you so,' “ said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
As part of Vaicom’s $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton ordered Google to disclose recods showing which users watched particular videos on YouTube. Viacom intends to use the information to show that users worldwide are frequently viewing pirated material.
Some information, also turned over by order of the court, includes YouTube users’ IP addresses which privacy advocates say is personally identifiable because it can be used to discover people’s names.
Google has justified its possession of the information by saying it allows their algorithms to improve the quality of its code and also to guard against “click fraud.” Although Google has reportedly maintained strict controls over users personal information, advocates have long been warning that litigation might bypass their security measures.
“Google keeps too much data about their users,” Rotenberg says. “There will be circumstances such as discovery orders and search warrants where Google will have to turn that data over.”
The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), a digital rights group has condemned the decision, calling it a setback for privacy and has subsequently encouraged Google to fight the case.
A lawyer with the Foundation, Kurt Opsahl, told Online Media Daily Thursday that the organization is weighing whether to get involved. “A motion to intervene is certainly possible,” he said. “We're considering all options, but have not yet decided on the best course of action.”
Google has said that despite not challenging the court decision, they will stil endeavour to protect the rights of users.
“We will be asking Viacom to respect users' privacy and allow us to anonymize the logs before producing them under the court's order,” Google senior litigation counsel Catherine Lacavera said.
But users’ identities can still be discovered if they have used their real name in registration details. A similar case in 2006 saw the New York Times discover the identity of an AOL user and wrote a profile of her within days.
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