Video Privacy Protection Act
Encyclopedia
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) was a bill passed by the United States Congress
in 1988 as and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan
. It was created to prevent what it refers to as "wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records [or similar audio visual materials, to cover items such as video games and the future DVD
format]." Congress passed the VPPA after Robert Bork
's video rental history was published during his Supreme Court nomination
. It makes any "video tape service provider" that discloses rental information outside the ordinary course of business
liable for up to $2500 in actual damages.
In 2008, a class action lawsuit against Blockbuster Inc. was filed over the release of customer rental and sales records to Facebook
through the controversial Facebook Beacon
program. The lawsuit alleged the release of the records was a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act.
In December 2009, an anonymous plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the online DVD rental company Netflix
over its release of data sets for the Netflix Prize
, alleging that the company's release of the information constituted a violation of the VPPA.
This act was referenced in the Lane v. Facebook, Inc.
class action. Based on this act it is generalized to other forms of rental records such as DVDs and Video games etc.
Netflix cited the act in 2011 following the announcement of its global integration with Facebook. The company noted that the VPPA was the sole reason why the new feature was not immediately available in the United States, and it encouraged its customers to contact their representatives in support of legislation that would clarify the language of the law.
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1988 as and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. It was created to prevent what it refers to as "wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records [or similar audio visual materials, to cover items such as video games and the future DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format]." Congress passed the VPPA after Robert Bork
Robert Bork
Robert Heron Bork is an American legal scholar who has advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork formerly served as Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
's video rental history was published during his Supreme Court nomination
Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination
The Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination refers to the 1987 nomination by President Ronald Reagan of Judge Robert Bork to serve as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The U.S. Senate rejected his nomination.-Nomination:...
. It makes any "video tape service provider" that discloses rental information outside the ordinary course of business
Ordinary course of business
In law, the ordinary course of business covers the usual transactions, customs and practices of a certain business and of a certain firm. This term is used particularly to judge the validity of certain transactions...
liable for up to $2500 in actual damages.
In 2008, a class action lawsuit against Blockbuster Inc. was filed over the release of customer rental and sales records to Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
through the controversial Facebook Beacon
Facebook Beacon
Beacon was a part of Facebook's advertisement system that sent data from external websites to Facebook, for the purpose of allowing targeted advertisements and allowing users to share their activities with their friends. Certain activities on partner sites were published to a user's News Feed....
program. The lawsuit alleged the release of the records was a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act.
In December 2009, an anonymous plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the online DVD rental company Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
over its release of data sets for the Netflix Prize
Netflix Prize
The Netflix Prize was an open competition for the best collaborative filtering algorithm to predict user ratings for films, based on previous ratings....
, alleging that the company's release of the information constituted a violation of the VPPA.
This act was referenced in the Lane v. Facebook, Inc.
Lane v. Facebook, Inc.
Lane v. Facebook was a class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California regarding internet privacy and social media. In December 2007, Facebook launched Beacon, which resulted in user's private information being posted on Facebook without consent. A...
class action. Based on this act it is generalized to other forms of rental records such as DVDs and Video games etc.
Netflix cited the act in 2011 following the announcement of its global integration with Facebook. The company noted that the VPPA was the sole reason why the new feature was not immediately available in the United States, and it encouraged its customers to contact their representatives in support of legislation that would clarify the language of the law.