It seems that the media giant Viacom has avoided a PR disaster, for now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Viacom has requested that Google, which owns YouTube, hand over data on the number of users viewing Viacom-owned content on YouTube, not information on the actual users themselves.
Recently a judge ordered that Google sumbit YouTube user information to Viacom in the ongoing lawsuit, which created an online furor of protest. However, Viacom said on Tuesday that they would only require the amount of registered YouTube users who are watching the videos, not the actual names themselves, which Google agreed to.
"We are pleased that Google will comply with the court's directive to provide YouTube usage data, information that will highlight the way YouTube has used copyrighted material to build its business," Viacom said. "Agreeing to our suggestion to anonymize the end-user data is the best way for Google to address privacy concerns."
Although regular user names will be safe, Viacom will receive the names of YouTube and Google employees who are watching properties owned by Viacom.
The lawsuit is still in very early stages with an actual trial to begin sometime in mid-2009.
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