United States. Sectoral privacy. Act
VPPAVideo Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (18 U.S.C. § 2710)
In force
Partly verified
Medium confidence.Circuit split on who is a 'consumer'. Not re-verified against a primary source in this session (search budget exhausted); details from established knowledge.
§1Summary
- Synopsis
Bars video tape service providers from knowingly disclosing personally identifiable information about consumers' video viewing without informed written consent. Courts have applied it to streaming and websites with embedded video.
- Key themes
- Unique features
Pre-internet statute now driving pixel litigation against sites that share video viewing data with ad platforms.
- SaaS relevance
Video hosting and analytics SaaS and their customers face claims where viewing data plus identifiers flow to third parties.
§2Obligations
- Extraterritorial
- No
- Breach notification
- None
- DPO
- No
- Cross-border transfers
- None
- Maximum penalty
- Liquidated damages of $2,500 per person plus punitive damages
§3Dates
- Key dates
- Adopted
- In force
- Amended 2013 to allow electronic consent for sharing.
§4Text and authority
- Text
- Authoritative text uscode.house.gov
- Authority
- Private litigants (courts)
§5Where it applies
- Domestic law of
- United States
- Also applies in
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- US Virgin Islands
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
§6Sources and verification
- Sources consulted
- Verification
Medium confidence.
Partly verified
Medium confidence.Circuit split on who is a 'consumer'. Not re-verified against a primary source in this session (search budget exhausted); details from established knowledge.