Posts tagged with " viacom"
Viacom has got balls....
Viacom had astonishing balls to ask for the source code for the search functions that power Google and YouTube, the source code for YouTube's new "Video ID" program, a complete set of every video ever removed from the site, databases containing information on every video ever hosted at YouTube, and a copy of every private video.
So in the ruling by a Judge in the District of New York awarded Viacom's representatives to all of YouTubes logs. I have a number of concerns about this whole debacle which I'll talk about here. What the hell is Google doing with over 12 Terabytes of data just containing logs? I can really sense EU lawyers salivating over this, the EU have unbelievably strict privacy laws.
Why was Viacom looking for access to source code? There are hundreds of cloned services out there that mirror YouTube, they were not the first to create this service, obtaining and possibly leaking code would just enable more clones to be made available.
Whatever happened to YouTube's amazing technology that would automatically weed out copyright content from the site? Was this implemented? If so, how many videos were removed as a result? Who are Viacom looking for information on, uploaders or the actual content consumers?
Lastly, I personally find it hilarious that Viacom were requesting the search technology behind Google and Youtube. They are the same technology, can you imagine for one second Viacom actually aquiring the most intimate details of Google's core business? That's right, neither can I. What is really astonishing is that a division of Viacom, CBS, has major deals with Youtube, that involves having a large CBS channel within the site.
It's fast becoming very clear that despite all the press releases and lawsuits there is a major battle waging between old media and new. Content owners are trying to figure out what to do and how to do it before the old medium of television dies a lonely death (Not for some time I expect). Youtube, Justin.tv, and many more of it's ilk, divide and conquer.
Google may shortly begin regretting buying the service, . Mark Cuban once famously commented “Only a ‘moron’ would buy YouTube”, he may be right after all. These types of lawsuit are only the tip of the iceberg. It happened with book publishers, it has happened with radio, it's happening with record labels and artists. Video is the new battleground...