Video Privacy Protection Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) was a bill passed by the United States Congress in 1988 as Pub.L. 100-618 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 (EPIC). 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.[1]
[edit] References
- 18 U.S.C. § 2710: Wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records
- "EPIC Video Privacy Protection Act Page". Electronic Privacy Information Center. http://www.epic.org/privacy/vppa/. Retrieved on 2005-03-03.

