June 2
YouTube users call for boycott in Viacom-Google dustup
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 9:51AM 
YouTube users are calling for a boycott of Viacom brands because the media conglomerate wants user files to determine whether copyrights were infringed. Viacom owns brands like MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Studios. Those are just a few; Viacom is the T.Rex of the entertainment world. You can print a list of all the brands from the Viacom website.
The entertainment industry in general is extremely tight-fisted with intellectual property rights, especially compared to the publishing industry. I admit there's a pretty big difference between celebs and writers, starting with the fact most writers don't own planes and waterfront property in Miami.
Viacom issued a statement. Here's an excerpt; you can read the whole spin at the website: "Viacom has not asked for and will not be obtaining any personally identifiable information of any YouTube user. The personally identifiable information that YouTube collects from its users will be stripped from the data before it is transferred to Viacom. Viacom will use the data exclusively for the purpose of proving our case against You Tube and Google."
This dustup illustrates the confidence, possibly even arrogance, of a conglomerate whose brands are so successful that customer relations don't matter. And it's my opinion Viacom is also fishing for information that might be an asset in marketing and demographics, regardless of what personal information is given. And of course, there's the billion dollars plus in damages. Doesn't every media conglomerate want what Google has?
Think about this for a minute. What could you more easily do without--Google or Viacom?
It's a no-brainer for me. I rarely watch TV or movies anymore. How many reality scenarios can a person take? Do you really care if a bachelor picks some female who is so desperate for an audience she puts herself in a situation completely devoid of dignity? And how many lame movies can you sit through?
Boycott Viacom, say YouTube users. I think that's a capital idea.
And if we really wanted to have some fun, we could boycott sponsors who place ads on Viacom brands. That would be an even bigger capital idea. Too bad we can't boycott judges like the federal judge who issued this ruling.
Read our previous story about the Viacom ruling. And ask yourself why the blogosphere, an entity known for rabidly protecting privacy rights, is fairly mute about this issue except for select tech blogs.
Reader Comments (2)
This is a complete invasion of privacy on the part of Viacom and our user information doesn’t have any relevance to their billion dollar lawsuit against Google. Google should be able to anatomize the user information before handing over 12 terabytes of personal information so my privacy and the privacy of millions like me are protected. I have a campaign that will force Viacom to allow Google/YouTube to protect us or 100,000 will boycott Viacom and all its subsidiaries: https://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/stop-viacom-from-invading-our-you-tube-privacy
Stephen, good job. Readers, here's a click-to for Viacom privacy compaign:
The Point: Stop Viacom from Invading our YouTube Privacy.
Thanks for sharing that, Stephen. I think most usage of YouTube info falls under Fair Use anyway at least by us bloggers.
best, Kay