An anonymous reader cites a report from Ars Technica. On Thursday, AMC notified subscribers of an $8.3 million settlement that would award awards to an estimated 6 million subscribers across six streaming services: AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, SundanceNow, and HIDIVE. The settlement comes in the wake of allegations that AMC illegally shared subscriber viewing history with technology companies including Google, Facebook, and X (aka Twitter) in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). It is something that Passed in 1988, the VPPA prohibits AMC and other video service providers from sharing “information that identifies individuals who have requested or obtained certain video material or services from a videotape service provider.” The law originally protected individuals' private viewing habits after journalists published the largely undisclosed video rental history of Justice Robert Bork, who had been nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. It was passed in order to
The so-called “baud tapes” revealed little other than that the judge frequently rented spy thrillers and British costume dramas, but lawmakers believe that monitoring someone's viewing habits can be used to He recognized that speech could be chilled. Although the law was born in the era of Blockbuster Video, the subscribers who sued AMC wrote in their amended complaint (PDF) that “the importance of laws like the VPPA in the modern era of data mining is more apparent than ever. ”. According to the subscribers who filed the lawsuit, AMC installed tracking technologies on its websites, including Metapixels, X-Tracking Pixels, and Google tracking technology, that allowed them to associate personally identifying information with their viewing history. […]
If approved, AMC may “suspend, remove, or modify the operation of Meta Pixels and other third-party tracking technologies, and the use of such technologies on AMC Services may result in AMC's ability to provide information to third-party technology companies. You agree not to disclose your information. Specific video content requested or obtained by specific individuals. ” All registered users of AMC services who “requested or obtained video content on at least one of the six AMC services” between January 18, 2021 and January 10, 2024 are now eligible under the proposed settlement. are eligible to file a claim. The deadline for submission is April 9th. In addition to the $8.3 million settlement fund being distributed to class members, subscribers will also receive one week of free digital subscriptions.
