The US Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in Salazar v. Paramount Global on October 14, a case that could reshape the privacy litigation landscape. While attorneys and privacy professionals remain divided on how the Court may interpret the Video Privacy Protection Act’s (VPPA) definition of a “consumer,” many expect the decision to have significant implications for future VPPA claims.
McCarter & English partner Erin Prest spoke with Privacy Daily about the case’s broader implications, noting that it will give the Court an opportunity to address the “ongoing trend” of applying older laws to new technologies without having “to dig into a very big, broad issue in order to have an impact.”
Erin said a broad interpretation of the VPPA’s consumer definition could spur additional litigation, not only under the VPPA but also under other legacy statutes as plaintiffs seek to apply them to evolving technologies. A narrower ruling, she said, could reduce the number of claims, though “Lawyers are constantly applying statutes to things that weren’t necessarily contemplated at the time the statute was passed.”
She also noted that the ultimate impact may depend less on the Court’s overall holding than on the specific language it uses. As Erin explained, “the devil’s in the details there in terms of how the Supreme Court rules,” and depending on what the justices “actually say,” the decision could be “very, very narrowly focused,” or could open “the door a little bit wider … for additional arguments.”