THE US REPORT

Should consumers boycott Viacom brands? Tech blogs are analyzing the ruling in the Google/Viacom battle after federal judge Lewis Stanton ruled in favor of protecting Google’s intellectual property but ignored privacy rights of users. User info will be turned over to Viacom, one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Michael Arrington, writing for Tech Crunch, says the data “includes every YouTube username, the associated IP address and the videos that user has watched on YouTube. Google will also be required to hand over copies of every video removed from YouTube for any reason (DMCA notices or user-initiated deletions). Stanton dismissed Google’s argument that the order will violate user privacy, saying such privacy concerns are merely ‘speculative.’ " So how will this not only affect YouTube users but us lowly bloggers?

Don’t you wish judges were required to take Web 101? This suit reminds me of a copyright suit against National Geographic. The judge in that suit referred in his decision to Webopedia on the subject of JPG files, noting these files are pronounced ‘jay-peg.’ Astounding, isn’t it? That judge is part of the same court Stanton rules—the US District Court, Southern District of New York. In the National Geo suit, the little guy lost too.

I asked myself how this will affect my use of other user-generated videos at YouTube. An aggressive, greedy conglomerate will have my personal information. Will I be in trouble for posting videos here on my blog? This is a group who won’t bat an eye before going after a kid for uploading music to her MySpace page. Viacom gets your login I.D., the time you began watching the video and other details. On the one hand, I view these videos as fair use. I deliberately select the shortest ones for that reason.  I place them here in the context of discussing a current event or news item. It would be counter-productive to place a video of an entire program here—that’s not the purpose of my blog.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation views this as an infringement of privacy.

Note the difference in media conglomerates. Remember the Associated Press backing down over bloggers’ use of their material? Viacom won’t. And next time you watch a favorite star on one of those mindless shows TV loves to dish up, or next time you watch one of those completely brainless movies the industry churns out with the reproductive rate of rabbits, remember the owner of brands like MTV, Spike TV and Paramount now have your personal information. Attorneys may knock at your door.

 All those stars talking about progressive politics are the most successful capitalists in the land. Tinseltown is progressive until their own money is at stake. They get greedy just like everybody else when it comes to gouging bucks. They are freewheeling with taxpayer money but not their own.

My suggestion: boycott Viacom brands. That’s simple enough and I can assure you your life will be the better for it. The judge’s ruling on user information is not only a violation of our privacy, it encourages greed. Viacom went fishing, in my opinion to see what could be grabbed from Google to further Viacom’s own profits. Follow the links under ‘References’ to learn more about the Viacom-Google suit and make a list of the Viacom brands listed on their website. Web users and bloggers should not give this media conglomerate a pass on this privacy rights issue.