Supreme Court To Decide How 1988 Videotape Privacy Law Applies To Online Video

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/01/supreme-court-to-decide-how-1988-videotape-privacy-law-applies-to-online-video/

179 points · 10 comments · view on lemmy.world

10 Comments

Savaran@lemmy.world · 58 pts · 199d (1 reply)

Well, in the least consumer friendly fashion given this court.

xylogx@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 198d

I feel like they are targeting big tech here.

dance_ninja@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 199d (1 reply)

The Supreme Court is taking up a case on whether Paramount violated the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by disclosing a user’s viewing history to Facebook. The case, Michael Salazar v. Paramount Global, hinges on the law’s definition of the word “consumer.”

Prox@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 198d

Michael Salazar claims that his subscription to a 247Sports e-newsletter qualifies him as a “consumer.” But since he did not subscribe to “audio visual materials,” the district court held that he was not a “consumer” and dismissed the complaint.

rmt_online@sh.itjust.works · 27 pts · 199d (2 replies)

Depending on how they rule, this could set us back about a couple of decades!!! :-(

69420@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 199d

mrnobody@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 198d

Could you explain? Why would that set us back? You mean if Paramount wins?

dan@upvote.au · 21 pts · 199d

Interesting case. If the plaintiff wins, I suspect this will mean that sites with videos won't be able to use third-party analytics scripts (not just Meta pixel, but also things like Google Analytics), which would be a pretty large change for the industry.

I'd love to see first-party tracking become more popular again. I self-host Plausible for my sites, but I've considered switching to Swetrix.

CaptKoala@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 198d

That's a lot of words to say "this area needs reform"

sturmblast@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 198d

..... news laws for new mediums