The US Supreme Court will soon hear a dispute over a decades-old video data privacy law that could have major implications not only for pending litigation under the statute, but also for similar disputes involving the application of older laws to modern technology.
Under consideration is the criteria consumers need to meet in order to sue under the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, a law enacted in 1988 that prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of certain personal information belonging to “consumers” that rent, purchase or subscribe to “goods and services from a video tape service provider.”
The debate over whether the statute applies to a “consumer” who doesn’t directly subscribe to audiovisual goods or services focuses on how courts interpret data privacy laws written well before today’s digital era. McCarter & English partner Erin Prest spoke with Law360 and said, “While the law is nearly 40 years old, the Supreme Court’s decision will likely change the future trajectory of the law, while providing insight as to how the court views the application of older laws to today’s new technology.”
The dispute currently before the justices focuses on who is actually a consumer and whether that the rental of “entirely dissimilar goods” for a video provider is sufficient to trigger VPPA. However, the conclusion in this decision may resonate beyond the relatively narrow issue covered by the appeal. “I would expect there would be questions about the original intent of the VPPA and how this application may fit — or not fit — under that,” Erin noted. “The way those questions are phrased and the associated tone could indicate skepticism or support for the application of VPPA here.