Recent Developments In Video Privacy Protection Act Litigation

Introduction

Within a two-day span, three different U.S. District Courts issued opinions that highlighted the increasing use of the Video Privacy Protection Act¹ (VPPA) to challenge websites’ use of tracking pixels. These cases reached different results for different reasons, indicative of the circuit split in how the VPPA is being interpreted and applied to tracking pixel technology.

The VPPA imposes liability when a “video tape service provider . . . knowingly discloses, to any person, personally identifiable information concerning any consumer . . .” In that circumstance, the provider shall be liable to the aggrieved person² for “actual damages but not less than liquidated damages in an amount of $2,500,”³punitive damages,⁴attorneys’ fees and costs,⁵and other preliminary and equitable relief deemed appropriate by the court.⁶Differences have arisen in how courts interpret the phrases “video tape service provider,” “consumer of such provider,” and whether personally identifiable