Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) is a federal law in the United States enacted in 1988 to safeguard the privacy of individuals' video rental and sales records. This legislation emerged in response to a significant breach of privacy involving the video rental history of Judge Robert H. Bork, which was publicly disclosed during his Supreme Court nomination hearings. The VPPA prohibits video service providers from sharing personally identifiable information about renters and purchasers without explicit consent, thereby ensuring that consumers' privacy is respected.
Initially focused on physical video rentals, the act has since been applied to online services as well. An important amendment made in 2012 expanded the scope of consent, allowing consumers to authorize the sharing of their information electronically and on either a continuous or case-by-case basis. Violations of the VPPA can result in damages of up to $2,500, reinforcing the seriousness of protecting consumer data. The law reflects broader societal concerns about privacy and the evolving nature of media consumption in both physical and digital contexts.
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Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)
The Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (VPPA) is a US federal law that prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of videotape rental or sales records by videotape service providers outside the ordinary course of business. The law protects renters, purchasers, and subscribers of videos and other media from having their personally identifiable information released without their consent. The VPPA was amended in 2012 to allow consumers to give their consent on an ongoing or case-by-case basis and to clarify that consent may be granted through electronic means, such as the Internet.
Overview
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) of 1988 was passed shortly after the unauthorized disclosure and publication of Judge Robert H. Bork’s video rental history during the Senate hearings for Bork’s Supreme Court nomination in September 1987. Journalist Michael Dolan had obtained Bork’s video rental history from Potomac Video and decided to write of his findings in the Washington City Paper after learning of Bork’s opinion that the US Constitution affords no penumbral (implied) guarantees of privacy and that privacy protections must be conferred through legislation.
Republican representative Al McCandless of California introduced a bill to Congress in October 1987 that would make it illegal for video rental stores to release such personal information, but the bill failed to make it past committee. A similar bill, sponsored by Democratic senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, was introduced to Congress on May 10, 1988, and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 5, 1988. The VPPA holds any videotape service provider that discloses rental information outside the ordinary course of business liable for up to $2,500 in damages. The law defines the “ordinary course of business” as debt collection activities, order fulfillment, request processing, and transfer of ownership.
The law has also been applied online video service providers. In 2008, a class-action lawsuit, Lane v. Facebook Inc., was filed against Facebook for its online ad system Beacon, in which users’ activities on partner websites, including video providers Blockbuster and Fandango, were published without users’ consent to their Facebook news feeds. Facebook Beacon was found to be in violation of the VPPA, prompting Facebook to discontinue the controversial ad service in 2009.
In order to facilitate the online sharing of video content watched or recommended by social-network users, Republican representative Bob Goodlatte of Virginia introduced a bill to amend the VPPA in December 2012. The Video Privacy Protection Act Amendments Act of 2012 was signed by President Barack Obama on January 10, 2013. The 2012 act amends provisions of the VPPA to clarify that a video service provider may obtain consumer consent through electronic means, such as the Internet, and that such consent may be granted in advance for a set period of time or on a case-by-case basis.
Bibliography
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Video Privacy Protection Act Amendments Act of 2012. Pub. L. 112–258. 126 Stat. 2414. 10 Jan. 2013. Print.
Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988. Pub. L. 100–618. 102 Stat. 3195. 5 Nov. 1988. Print.
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