December 08, 2011, 10:50 AM — At this moment my colleague Mike is listening to Ween on Spotify. My friend Serena is reading about Alec Baldwin’s fight with American Airlines on the Washington Post. My brother-in-law Phil is kvelling over Flipboard for the iPhone.
Thanks to Facebook’s “frictionless sharing,” I know all kinds of things about what my friends and relatives are doing at any given moment. One thing I don’t know, though, is what movies they’re watching online.
The reason is thanks to one of the rare US privacy laws on the books, and one of the weirdest: The Video Privacy Protection Act. But it won’t be for long, if Facebook and Netflix have their way.
The Video Rental Protection Act of 1988 was passed after enterprising reporters at the Washington City Paper did a dumpster dive on the contents of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s trash. (Which, by the way, is perfectly legal, though probably disgusting.) They were looking at his video rental receipts, in an apparent effort to see if the judge was in the habit of renting XXX movies. Turns out he was a big fan of Disney films.
When news of their snooping was revealed during Bork’s unsuccessful confirmation hearings, Congress reacted as only Congress can – by passing a stern-sounding but extremely narrow law with instant public appeal. From that day until now, video store chains have been forbidden from revealing the names of movies you have rented. They can’t go to prison for that, but they could get sued.
Now press the fast forward button for 23 years. VHS has been replaced by DVD, which has been replaced (mostly) by streaming. The videos you rent are still protected – but not for long. Yesterday the House passed HR 2471, a bill amending the VPPA that allows movie rental/streaming services to reveal the films you’ve watched, assuming you’ve given your informed written consent – which can be obtained over the Net.
In other words, by clicking Allow on Facebook, you could agree to let all your peeps know that you just watched “Hello Sister, Goodbye Life” on Netflix. Why you would want to do this, I don’t know.
Given the margin by which this 59-word snippet of law passed (303 to 116), I can’t see it getting massive opposition in the Senate or earning a presidential veto. They’ve got much bigger issues to avoid making decisions on in DC these days. So I’d consider this a done deal.
According to Maplight.org, interest groups supporting this bill – primarily the Digital Media Association, Facebook, and Netflix – have doled out over $1 million to Congressional members from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011. House members who voted yes on the bill got an average of 73 percent more from these groups (or $2,644 on average) than those who voted no. The top recipients of the digital industry’s largesse: California Democrats Anna Eshoo ($36K) and Zoe Lofgren ($40K), and Virginia Republicans Bob Goodlatte ($28K) and Eric Cantor ($24K).
See? We do have the best Congress money can buy. Just not your money or mine.
Is this a big deal? It’s opt in, so nobody can force you to do it. Many people are quite happy to share their taste in movies with the world, however possibly misguided. And it’s unclear how Facebook will implement this feature. But if it’s anything like the other “frictionless” services, it will be a one-time process; you’ll automatically be sharing everything until you opt out.
Just don’t forget, decide to watch Adventures in Pornoland, and then wonder why all your friends and coworkers are looking at you funny. That could add a little friction to your life.
Got a question about social media? TY4NS blogger Dan Tynan may have the answer (and if not, he’ll make something up). Visit his snarky, occasionally NSFW blog eSarcasm or follow him on Twitter: @tynan_on_tech. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-to’s, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook.
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