Many companies host videos on their websites or via mobile apps. They often use analytic companies/vendors to help them track whether the videos are in fact viewed and other information about site usage. This is precisely the issue at the core of the case titled In re Hulu Privacy Litigation, pending in the Northern District of California. In a December 20, 2013 decision, the Northern District of California held that under the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), plaintiffs have no obligation to provide evidence of injury above and beyond the statutory violation of alleged knowing disclosure of an individual’s video viewing. In February 2014, the Court will decide Hulu’s second motion for summary judgment on the issue of whether there was any “knowing” disclosure of video viewing activity when Hulu shared anonymized video viewing tracking data with its website research /analytic companies and social networks. Companies with websites that host video should pay close attention as the plaintiffs in the Hulu case are alleging millions of violations (each time a video was tracked and shared with an analytics company) at $2500 statutory damages per violation. To read more about the decision see Alston & Bird’s client alert.
Written by Dominique Shelton, Partner, Litigation & Trial Practice Group | Alston & Bird LLP