🇺🇸Video Privacy Protection Act

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Video Privacy Protection Act

Video Privacy Protection Act

Video Privacy Protection Act is part of the United States sectoral privacy framework. It should be applied to the covered actor, record, communication, service or practice identified by the statute rather than treated as a general law for all personal data.

Current official version

Effective status: May 10, 1988, as amended

Citation: 18 U.S.C. s. 2710

Source basis: Current 18 U.S.C. section 2710 published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel.

Scope

The VPPA applies to a video tape service provider engaged in the rental, sale or delivery of prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audiovisual materials and protects personally identifiable information concerning consumers, subject to statutory definitions and exceptions.

Operational obligations

Covered providers must restrict knowing disclosure, obtain compliant informed written consent where relied upon, separate consent from other legal or financial obligations as required, honor withdrawal, disclose only under an applicable exception and destroy records when they are no longer necessary.

Maintain an evidence-based applicability decision, identify the systems and records within scope, assign owners, configure access and disclosure controls, document legal bases and exceptions, train relevant staff and retain the records needed to demonstrate compliance.

Important boundary

Digital streaming, pixels, analytics and advertising integrations require careful fact-specific analysis of provider status, consumer status and whether disclosed data identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services.

Enforcement

The VPPA provides a civil action for an aggrieved person, including statutory damages, punitive damages where appropriate, equitable relief and reasonable attorneys fees and costs.

What this means for you

Map this law to specific products, records, communications and teams. Verify current statutory and regulatory text before relying on an exception, consent, permissible purpose or enforcement assumption.

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