Netflix Didn't Violate California's Video Privacy Protection Act, California Civil Code, 9th Circuit Rules

Netflix didn't violate the Video Privacy Protection Act or California Civil Code Section 1799.3 when it disclosed a subscriber’s viewing history to third parties -- specifically a subscriber’s family, friends and guests, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. To assist subscribers in adding videos to their queues or selecting videos to watch instantly, Netflix gives customers lists of recommended videos, the 9th Circuit said. “These recommendations are generated through the use of predictive software that analyzes, among other things, a subscriber’s rental history,” the court said. “Netflix displays a subscriber’s queue and recommendations lists automatically on a subscriber’s account home page.” Subscribers can edit and delete titles from the queue, but can’t hide or remove the queue or other lists displayed by Netflix, meaning they're available for others to see when subscribers accesses their account, said the ruling. Because the personally identifiable information is only available only to those who have been given access to a subscriber’s account, the 9th Circuit said the company didn’t violate the law. Judge Raymond Dearie wrote the opinion on behalf of himself and Judges Johnnie Rawlinson and Richard Tallman. It upheld a lower court's ruling. Plaintiffs Meghan Mollett and Tracy Hellwig couldn't be immediately reached for comment Monday.