The last time Congress managed to pass a federal consumer privacy law was in 1988: The Video Privacy Protection Act. That’s a law that bans video-store clerks from telling newspapers what VHS cassettes you take home. In other words, it regulates three things that have effectively ceased to exist.
And even though it’s being labeled as a “consumer privacy law” it was actually spurred by a politician getting upset that people might find out what he was renting. It was a self-serving law that had the side effect of also helping consumers.
I wonder if there’s any case law that could support applying that law to other media, such as preventing streaming sites from handing watch history over to the media.
Corey Doctorow always hits so hard
And even though it’s being labeled as a “consumer privacy law” it was actually spurred by a politician getting upset that people might find out what he was renting. It was a self-serving law that had the side effect of also helping consumers.
Wasn’t it because a couple of anti-porn politicians were outed as having renting porn tapes (yet another thing that doesn’t really exist anymore)
IIRC that was what happened.
That’s exactly right. It’s called the bork tapes, and it gives rise to the eponymous phrase, “getting borked.”
I wonder if there’s any case law that could support applying that law to other media, such as preventing streaming sites from handing watch history over to the media.
And that’s why you don’t get legal advice from the internet
Okay. I’ll allow it.