Court Order for Viewer Data on YouTube Stirs Privacy Concerns

A federal-court order that requires Google Inc. to provide information about videos watched on YouTube is renewing concerns about online privacy.

At issue: A YouTube database that records each time a video is watched and pairs that with two kinds of information about people who viewed it.

People who put videos on the site, or comment on videos or want to do other activities such as view mature content have to sign up for an account on the site. Under the judge's order, Google would have to deliver the log-in names that users created to sign up for those accounts. ...