Netflix-Backed Bill on Video Disclosure Passed by U.S. House
U.S. House lawmakers passed legislation backed by Netflix Inc. (NFLX) that would ease a 1988 law barring disclosure of movie-rental history without a customer’s written permission.
The House bill, H.R. 2471, passed today in a 303-116 vote. The measure would let consumers give one-time online consent to the release of their rental data, clearing the way for U.S. implementation of a deal that Los Gatos, California-based Netflix signed with Facebook Inc. in September. The Senate has yet to introduce its version of the bill.
Netflix, a video-streaming and DVD subscription service, has said the two-decade-old law stands in the way of the Facebook agreement, which would make it easier for subscribers of both services to share their favorite movies.
The House bill would change the Video Privacy Protection Act, which was enacted after rental records of then-Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork were published in the fall of 1987 by a Washington tabloid.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Engleman in Washington at eengleman1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Shepard at mshepard7@bloomberg.net
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