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<i>Online Extra:</i> Hulu Loses Bid to Short Circuit Privacy Case

By Scott Graham
December 30, 2013

Users of video streaming site Hulu do not have to prove they were actually injured by disclosure of their viewing habits to win statutory damages under a 1980s video privacy law, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler ruled on Dec. 20.

“The plain language of the statute shows that Congress considered a consumer to be an 'aggrieved person' under the [Video Privacy Protection Act] if a video tape service provider wrongfully discloses that consumer's personally identifiable information,” Beeler wrote,'denying summary judgment'in'In re Hulu Privacy Litigation.

It's the latest Northern District opinion on the issue of damages in a privacy case. But class counsel in'Hulu'are in a strong position because the video law ' enacted in 1988 after a Supreme Court nominee's Blockbuster video rentals were disclosed in a newspaper article ' specifically provides a minimum $2,500 in liquidated damages per violation.

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