Google wants logins cut from YouTube data

Google Inc., the owner of YouTube, said it's seeking to remove users' login information from a database of all videos viewed on YouTube that it must turn over to Viacom Inc.

A federal judge in New York presiding over Viacom's copyright infringement lawsuit against Google told the search-engine company this week to give Viacom its "logging database" containing records of every video viewed, the login name of the person who watched it, and the Internet address of the viewer's computer.

Viacom, owner of Comedy Central and MTV Networks, wants the information to find out if YouTube viewers watch more copyrighted shows such as "South Park" and "The Colbert Report" than other videos in an effort to strengthen its $1 billion lawsuit against Google.

"We are disappointed the court granted Viacom's overreaching demand for viewing history," Catherine Lacavera, Google's senior litigation counsel, said yesterday. "We will ask Viacom to respect users' privacy and allow us to anonymize the logs before producing them under the court's order."

A Viacom spokesman didn't return a call seeking comment after business hours.

Viacom sued YouTube last year, claiming it allows users to post clips from its copyrighted shows without permission.

Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., has denied Viacom's claims in the lawsuit, saying YouTube follows the law by removing copyrighted material when it becomes aware of it.

US District Judge Louis L. Stanton authorized full access to the YouTube logs after Viacom and other copyright holders argued that they needed the data to show whether their copyright-protected videos are more heavily watched than amateur clips.

The data would be disclosed only to the plaintiffs.