Now available for free In the App Store
Get The App
More Info
U.S.
President Obama signs Netflix video-sharing law
Tweet
Source: en.wikipedia.org
President Obama signed legislation that lets Netflix users share their video viewing history on social networks. The new law, however, lets authorities monitor people's email without needing to obtain a warrant.
7 POINTS • March 13, 2013 AT 2:04PM
back forward
Point # of 7 (View All)
1
President Obama signed a bill, Jan 10, that lets Netflix users automatically share their viewing history with Facebook and other social networks. A 1988 law, designed to protect people's video rental privacy, had previously prevented Netflix users from doing so.
Jan. 11, 2013, 12:04 a.m.
2
Netflix on March 13 introduced a feature that lets users share their viewing histories with their Facebook friends.
March 13, 2013, 2:03 p.m.
3
A Senate committee approved privacy legislation in November that was proposed by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT. At that point, it would have amended the Video Privacy Protection Act so authorities would need a warrant to read private information stored online.
Dec. 26, 2012, 7:57 p.m.
4
December 20, 2012
Before the amendment passed the full Senate, it was stripped of the warrant requirement. Instead, it grants 22 regulatory agencies new power to read material stored online, and it lets law enforcement dive into private accounts without notifying the owner or a judge in some cases.
Dec. 26, 2012, 6:39 p.m.
5
"There is no good legal reason why federal regulatory agencies such as the NLRB, OSHA, SEC or FTC need to access customer information service providers with a mere subpoena."
– Markham Erickson, a Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in tech and startups
Other agencies winning new power under the bill include the FTC, postal commission and NLRB. Leahy had intended to update a pair of 1980s surveillance laws. But trade groups for prosecutors and sheriffs objected, and the provisions later vanished.
Dec. 26, 2012, 7:57 p.m.
6
The law does nothing to change federal authorities ability to read any data stored in the cloud more than 180 days, including private email, without a warrant.
Jan. 10, 2013, 11:36 p.m.
7
The original video privacy law shielded Americans' video rental history from public view after a newspaper published Judge Robert Bork's video-rental records during his failed 1988 Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Facebook and Netflix supported changing the law to allow sharing. Source: upload.wikimedia.org
The original video privacy law shielded Americans' video rental history from public view after a newspaper published Judge Robert Bork's video-rental records during his failed 1988 Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Facebook and Netflix supported changing the law to allow sharing.
Dec. 26, 2012, 6:44 p.m.
Citations
  1. 1. Congress Defeats E-Mail Privacy Legislation — Again | Threat Level | Wired.com
    http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/12/congress-caves-privacy/
  2. 2. Senate bill rewrite lets feds read your e-mail without warrants
    http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552225-38/senate-bill-rewrite-lets-feds-read-your-e-mail-without-warrants/
  3. 3. Congress, at Last Minute, Drops Requirement to Obtain Warrant to Monitor Email
    http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/congress-at-last-minute-drops-requirement-to-obtain-warrant-to-monitor-email-121225?news=846578
  4. 4. Obama signs bill to let Facebook users share Netflix videos - The Hill's Hillicon Valley
    http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/276557-obama-signs-bill-to-let-facebook-users-share-netflix-videos
  5. 5. the post: Introducing Netflix Social
    http://blog.netflix.com/2013/03/introducing-netflix-social.html

Read this and other stories on Circa

Now available on the App Store.

Get The App

Catch up quick

News without the fluff, filler, or commentary: Circa’s editors gather top stories and break them down to their essential points, formatted specifically for the phone.

Follow the story

Keep track of stories that matter to you. Whenever there are new developments in a story you’re following, Circa adds a new point to it rather than making you read a whole new article.

Share what matters

Do it ‘cause you want to, not ’cause you have to. Circa helps you share individual points or whole stories using Facebook or Twitter.