OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Online Consent for Sharing Video Service Use

Floor Speech

Date: Dec. 6, 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Technology and Communication

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Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2471. This bill would update the Video Privacy Protection Act by giving consumers the ability to use social media to discuss movies they have been watching. When it was passed in 1988, internet social media did not exist, and the law needs an update for the digital age.

This legislation explicitly prevents businesses from using an ``opt out'' mechanism which businesses might abuse to consumers' detriment. Instead, it requires that consumers proactively choose to share their movie preferences with their friends. For this reason, the Future of Privacy Forum, a consumer advocacy group, supports this legislation.

This update ensures that consumers can use existing social media outlets to discuss movies they have watched. It may also contribute to the health of the movie industry by integrating it more fully into new modes of internet communications used by consumers.

I applaud my colleague from Virginia, Mr. Goodlatte, for his work on this legislation and urge my colleagues to support it.

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