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The Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), an infrequently litigated statute, may soon see a significant uptick in consumer protection litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court will determine this trajectory when it defines “consumer” in the pending case, Michael Salazar v. Paramount Global, dba 247Sports. With statutory damages reaching $2,500 per violation, businesses face potentially devastating exposure for class action VPPA lawsuits. The VPPA emerged from the 1987 Supreme Cour

In 2012, Congress amended the VPPA to reflect the realities of the 21st century. The amendment reflected modern society’s shift from “corner video stores,” such as Blockbuster and Redbox, to streaming platforms and other forms of digital media. Crucially, for business owners, courts have held that websites qualify as a video tape service provider within the VPPA. The Act provides a federal cause of action for aggrieved “consumers,” allowing them to recover actual or liquid

In 2012, Congress amended the VPPA "to reflect the realities of the 21st century. The amendment reflected modern society’s shift from “corner video stores,” such as Blockbuster and Redbox, to streaming platforms and other forms of digital media. Crucially, for business owners, courts have held that websites qualify as a video tape service provider within the VPPA. Indeed, as the Northern District of Texas remarked in Frawley v. Nexstar Media Grp. Inc.[DS1] “electronic disclos

The Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”) penalizes sharing a consumer’s personally identifiable information which can be used to “identify a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape service provider” without their consent. As discussed in a prior blog, the Supreme Court plans to arguments as to the definition of “consumer” under the VPPA. I. Exceptions. As an initial matter, under 18 U.S.C. §2710(b)(2)(A)-(F) of the VPPA