Netflix to testify on video rental privacy law

Netflix will testify on a law prevents them from sharing information on users' video rental history at a hearing Jan 31 in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Technology, Privacy and the Law.

Subpanel chairman Al Franken (D-MN) released a witness list for the hearing on the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) that includes Netflix general counsel David Hyman, University of Minnesota Law School Professor William McGeveran, and Electronic Privacy Information Center executive director Marc Rotenberg. The VPPA was passed in 1988 after the Washington City Paper published a list of recent video rentals by Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork during his contentious nomination process. The law bans sharing of rental information without written consent by the consumer or a warrant from law enforcement. The VPPA has since drawn opposition from Netflix, who claims the law prevents even the voluntary sharing of information on customer viewing habits via social networks. The widespread adoption of social media has resulted in users increasingly relying on the media recommendations of their networks.