Congress passes law change easing Facebook, Netflix tie-ins
updated 04:45 pm EST, Wed December 7, 2011
Netflix and Hulu can use Facebook for video recs
The US Congress late Tuesday passed a modification to a law that would help get over blocks preventing Facebook integration with Hulu and Netflix. A change to the Video Privacy Protection Act backed by Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte would let users share their video habits online. Until now, the law required written consent, criminalizing attempts to share history or other more detailed content.
As with a number of technology laws, the VPPA was established in a time and conditions which lost relevance. It came after a reporter got Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's video rental records, leading Congress to pass a bill in 1988 specifically banning such sharing. The modified bill would still require consent, but would let viewers grant it almost instantly.
Netflix has so far been promising Facebook sharing of queue contents since the f8 conference in September, but only in those countries it serves outside of the US. [via Ars Technica]
