Editing Video Privacy Protection Act (section)

{{Short description|1988 American law on tape rental privacy}}
{{use mdy dates |date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle = Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988
| othershorttitles = 
| longtitle = An act to amend title 18, United States Code, to preserve personal privacy with respect to the rental, purchase, or delivery of video tapes or similar audio visual materials.
| colloquialacronym = VPPA
| nickname = 
| enacted by = 100th
| effective date = November 5, 1988
| public law url = 
| cite public law = {{uspl|100|618}}
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|102|3195}}
| acts amended = 
| acts repealed = 
| title amended = Title 18 of the United States Code
| sections created = {{USC|18|2710}}
| sections amended = 
| leghisturl = 
| introducedin = Senate
| introducedbill = {{USBill|100|S.|2361}}
| introducedby = [[Patrick Leahy]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[Vermont|VT]])
| introduceddate = May 10, 1988
| committees = [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary]]
| passedbody1 = Senate
| passeddate1 = October 14, 1988
| passedvote1 = voice vote
| passedbody2 = House
| passedas2 = 
| passeddate2 = October 19, 1988
| passedvote2 = voice vote
| conferencedate = 
| passedbody3 = 
| passeddate3 = 
| passedvote3 = 
| agreedbody3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreeddate3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedvote3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedbody4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreeddate4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreedvote4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| passedbody4 = 
| passeddate4 = 
| passedvote4 = 
| signedpresident = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| signeddate = November 5, 1988
| amendments = {{uspl|112|258}}
| SCOTUS cases = 
| unsignedpresident = 
| vetoedpresident = 
}}

The '''Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)''' is a bill that was passed by the [[United States Congress]] in 1988 as {{USPL|100|618}} and signed into law by President [[Ronald Reagan]]. It was created to prevent what it refers to as "wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records"<ref>{{USC|18|2710}}: Wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records</ref> or similar audio visual materials, to cover items such as [[video games]].<ref>{{cite web | title=EPIC Video Privacy Protection Act Page | work=Electronic Privacy Information Center | url=http://www.epic.org/privacy/vppa/ | access-date = 2005-03-03}}</ref> Congress passed the VPPA after [[Robert Bork]]'s [[Bork tapes|video rental history]] was published during [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|his Supreme Court nomination]] and it became known as the "'''Bork bill'''".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-08-14 |title=Dodging the Thought Police: Privacy of Online Video and Other Content Under the "Bork Bill" |url=https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/dodging-the-thought-police-privacy-of-online-video-and-other-content-under-the-bork-bill |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Harvard Journal of Law & Technology |language=en}}</ref> It makes any "video tape service provider" that discloses rental information outside the [[ordinary course of business]] liable for up to $2,500 in actual damages unless the consumer has consented, the consumer had the opportunity to consent, or the data was subject to a court order or warrant.

In 2013, the law was amended to add provisions allowing consumers to electronically consent to sharing video rental histories and to extend the time that consent can last to up to two years.<ref>{{cite_web|title=PUBLIC LAW 112–249—JAN. 10, 2013|url=https://www.congress.gov/112/statute/STATUTE-126/STATUTE-126-Pg2414.pdf|access-date=2024-04-12|language=en|website=Congress.gov}}</ref> The law became a focus of attention in the legal industry once again in the twenty-first century with the rise of audiovisual content sharing through digital media. Its revival is part of a trend in the filing of consumer privacy class actions, both through new laws like the [[California Consumer Privacy Act]] and older laws like the VPPA and [[Electronic Communications Privacy Act|wiretapping]] statutes.