Supreme Court Weighs Major Video Privacy Case
A 1988 federal law could bar tech companies from using video viewing data for targeted ads without explicit user consent.
The US Supreme Court is currently considering a major video privacy case, Salazar v. Paramount Global. The dispute centers on whether a free digital newsletter, published by a Paramount Global-owned sports news website, violated a 1988 law protecting video rental customer information. Michael Salazar signed up for the newsletter without realizing that the website shared his video viewing history with Facebook without his consent.
Salazar argues this violated the Video Privacy Protection Act, but Paramount contends that the definition of "consumer" in the law does not include those who signed up for free digital newsletters. The case has implications for internet privacy, as regulating surveillance-based ads could impact targeted advertising practices. While the act was originally intended for analog media, Salazar's team argues it should also apply to digital media.
If the Supreme Court rules in Salazar's favor, it could set a precedent for protecting internet users' privacy rights, though the impact on targeted ads remains uncertain.
Written by urgent.news from CNET's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
