New Media and Technology Law Blog

Category Archives: Video

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DOJ Seeking to End Movie Studio and Theater Antitrust Decrees amidst Streaming Competition – A New Opportunity in Theatrical Distribution?

For the film and media distribution industries, this year has been action-packed.  Production budgets are skyrocketing and new digital services have been announced or are launching with each passing month. The streaming wars are upon us. Moreover, the FCC recently voted to treat streaming services as “effective competition” to traditional cable providers (or MVPDs), thereby … Continue Reading

Fair Use in Flux: Second Circuit TVEyes Ruling May Have a Lasting Effect on Fair Use Analysis

Fair use can be one of the most difficult issues that copyright lawyers have to address due to decades of varying court rulings applying the multi-factor balancing test, particularly in the face of new technologies that use, modify, and aggregate data in ways not envisioned under the Copyright Act. The Second Circuit’s February 2018 fair … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Rejects VPPA Claims of Roku Channel User, Declining to Adopt Broad Definition of PII

In a decision that clarified aspects of the video privacy landscape, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an action alleging a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) based on an assertion that ESPN’s WatchESPN Roku channel had shared a user’s Roku device number and video viewing history with a third-party analytics company … Continue Reading

Mobile App VPPA Suit Survives Spokeo Standing Challenge

In Yershov v. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., a user of the free USA Today app alleged that each time he viewed a video clip, the app transmitted his mobile Android ID, GPS coordinates and identification of the watched video to a third-party analytics company to create user profiles for the purposes of targeted advertising, in … Continue Reading

FCC Media Bureau Clarifies Broadcasters’ Negotiation Remedies

Negotiations between television channels/networks and pay TV operators are a breed apart.  The stakes are high and the consequence of failure – a “dark” screen – is all too public. But the critical factor that sets these negotiations apart is the actual regulation of the negotiations under three main categories of rules. Broadcasters may invoke … Continue Reading

No VPPA Liability for Disclosure of Certain Anonymous Digital Identifiers

Another court has contributed to the ongoing debate over the scope of the term “personally identifiable information” under the Video Privacy Protection Act – a statute enacted in 1988 to protect the privacy of consumers’ videotape rental and purchase history but lately applied to the modern age of video streaming services and online video viewing. … Continue Reading

User of Free App May Be “Consumer” under the Video Privacy Protection Act

This past week, the First Circuit issued a notable opinion concerning the contours of liability under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) – a decision that stirs up further uncertainty as to where to draw the line regarding VPPA liability when it comes to mobile apps.  (See Yershov v. Gannett Satellite Information Network Inc., No. … Continue Reading

Video Privacy Protection Act Narrowed – App’s Transmission of Roku ID Not Disclosure of Personal Information

A New York district court opinion is the latest addition to our watch of ongoing VPPA-related disputes, a notable decision on the issue of what exactly is a disclosure of “personally identifiable information” (PII)  under the VPPA.  Does PII refer to information which must, without more, link an actual person to actual video materials?  Or … Continue Reading

Important Circuit Court Ruling Limits Scope of VPPA Liability

The Eleventh Circuit issued a notable ruling this week limiting a mobile app’s liability under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2710, a law enacted in 1988 to preserve “consumer” personal privacy with respect to the rental or purchase of movies on VHS videotape, and which has been regularly applied to streaming … Continue Reading
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