Angry YouTubers are lashing back at a court's ruling that Google will have to turn over all user histories to media giant Viacom.
The ruling says records of all videos watched by YouTube users, along with the users' names and IP addresses, must be handed over to Viacom, which is suing YouTube for copyright infringement. Since the controversial ruling was handed down Tuesday, dozens of ranting videos blasting Viacom have surfaced on the video site.
"It just really sucks that one huge conglomerate and one stupid f*cking judge can set legal precedent that says, 'Hey, it's OK for a company to get all your private information if they ask for it,'" said popular videobloggersxephile in a video posted Friday that already has more than 300,000 views.
Other YouTube videos protesting the ruling are calling for a boycott of all Viacom properties -- including Paramount Pictures and popular cable networks like MTV -- while others are simply posting copyright protected material owned by the conglomerate.
On Friday, a post on YouTube's official blog addressed user concerns. "We'll continue to fight for your right to share and broadcast your work.... Legal matters aside, our focus remains on providing you with the best possible YouTube experience and we continue to be committed to protecting your privacy."
See also:
