Google (GOOG) is under court order to hand over YouTube's log data--a record of every video uploaded or watched on the service--to Viacom (VIA). It's a staggering amount of data: 12 terabytes, which is more information than every volume in the Library of Congress.
The pricetag for moving this amount of information in a legal proceeding carries its own significant pricetag: $12 million, e-discovery firm Metalincs tells us. That's applying an industry-average cost of about $1 million per terabyte for analysis, culling the data for relevant information (and in this case screening out IP addresses and user names) and then review by hundreds of contract attorneys and investigators.
In the end, though, it's a drop in the bucket in the legal bills likely to be generated by Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit. If the case goes to trial, the legal fees generated could easily top $100 million.
See Also: Viacom Doesn't Want Everyone's YouTube History. It Wants Chad Hurley's
YouTube Source Code Safe, But Your Viewing Records Aren't
Mark Cuban: Here's How YouTube Can Make Money (And Lose Market Share)
YouTube's Anti-Piracy System Takes The Weekend Off
On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.
