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Senate Leaves Internet Privacy Law Intact
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A Senate Committee has left a key Internet privacy law intact after
a last-minute protest by law enforcement agencies.The National District
Attorneys' Association and the National Sheriffs' Association were
concerned about a provision in the amendment requiring law
enforcement to obtain search warrants before accessing files stored in
the cloud. The VPPA updates were championed by Netflix and other
providers of streaming video content; in the proposed ruling, companies
could obtain blanket consent from consumers over the
use of their data.
The Video Privacy Protection Act was passed in 1988 in reaction to
public disclosure of then-Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's video
rental records. In 2011, the US House passed HR 2471, a bill similar
to the current Senate proposal, which also would allow companies to
obtain blanket consent to disclose consumer video viewing records.
In testimony before the Senate in January, EPIC strongly opposed the
amendment and instead recommended changes to provide greater safeguards
for Internet users. EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg urged the
Senate not to adopt HR 2471 because the amendment "undermines meaningful
consent" and does not protect consumer privacy. Rotenberg also warned
that once Netflix users give the company blanket permission to disclose
their information, Netflix could divulge this information to any party
- including law enforcement - at any time. EPIC's testimony underscored
that the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act was a "smart, forward-
looking, technology neutral" privacy law that could be modernized to
ensure protection of "the collection and use of personal information by
companies offering new video services."
Meanwhile, a federal court in California has held that the VPPA protects
the privacy of Hulu subscribers. As the court explained, "Congress was
concerned with protecting the confidentiality of private information
about viewing preferences regardless of the business model or media
format involved."
Senate Judiciary Committee: Hearing on VPPA Amendment (Sept. 20, 2012)
http://epic.org/redi...te-vppa-hearing.htmlUS House: Amendment to the VPPA (HR 2471)
http://thomas.loc.go...ery/z?d112:h.r.02471:
EPIC: Testimony Before US Senate on VPPA (Jan. 31, 2012)
http://epic.org/priv...e-VPPA-Testimony.pdfUS District Court of CA: In Re Hulu Privacy Litigation (Aug. 10, 2012)
http://epic.org/priv...n-Mot-To-Dismiss.pdfEPIC: Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988
http://epic.org/privacy/vppa/Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988
http://www.law.corne.../uscode/18/2710.htmlEPIC: Letter to Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) re: HR 2471 (Dec. 5, 2011)
http://epic.org/priv...-on-HR-2471-VPPA.pdf
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-Renegade (October 01, 2012, 06:52 AM)-f0dder (October 02, 2012, 07:12 AM)
