Netflix is in favor of amending a 24-year-old privacy law that the online provider of streaming movies and television shows claims is ambiguous.
At stake for Netflix, at least in the short term, is peace of mind in knowing it could offer a nifty Facebook application to U.S. subscribers.
The question is whether Congress will amend the Video Privacy Protection Act. The 24-year-old law bars the "disclosure of personally identifiable rental records of 'prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audio visual material,'" according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C. The Video Privacy Protection Act bans the disclosure of such information unless the consumer specifically consents in writing, the EPIC states on its website.
Although Netflix introduced a Facebook app last year that makes recommendations for customers based on the Netflix viewing habits of their friends, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company didn't offer the app to U.S. customers.
"Unfortunately, we have not elected to offer our Facebook application in the United States because of ambiguities in the Video Privacy Protection Act," Reuters quoted Netflix's general counsel, David Hyman, as telling lawmakers Tuesday on Capitol Hill during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.
Netflix offers a service in other countries that allows customers to share what movies they're watching with Facebook friends.
In December, the House of Representatives passed legislation to modernize the law. Congressman Bob Goodlatte, the Virginia Republican who introduced the bill, said the legislation allows consumers to share names of their favorite movies or TV shows on social media in a simple way but first requires consumer consent. The good news for Netflix is the bill clarifies that a consumer can opt in to share such content without having to grant consent every time a movie is rented.
"This amendment does not change the scope of who is covered by the VPPA, the definition of “personally identifiable information," or the privacy standard adopted by Congress when the VPPA was first enacted," according a Dec. 6 press release from Rep. Goodlatte's office. "Specifically, it preserves the requirement that the user provide affirmative, written consent."
Nonetheless, the legislation still faces criticism because of potentially broader implications.
"It's not just the friends of that individual to whom the specific movie viewing will be disclosed," Reuters quoted EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg as stating. "It's also to Netflix business partners and it's also potentially to law enforcement."
