Disney Not Liable For Disclosing Device IDs And Viewing Habits
4 12 2015Technology & Marketing Law Blog
November 1, 2015
Venkat Balasubramani
This is another VPPA case grappling with the question of how the statute defines “personally identifiable information.” A recent key VPPA ruling addressed the issue of whether someone who downloads an app is a “subscriber” (answer: no), but the PII question is one that has vexed several courts. Most courts hold that the information disclosed must, “without more,” identify a person. Thus, the VPPA does not apply to disclosure of a unique identifier that the recipient could use to ascertain the user’s identify.
Plaintiff, a Roku user, downloaded the Disney app via the Roku channel store. He was able to watch Disney videos using this app. He alleged that Disney allowed a third party (Adobe) to collect the (hashed) serial number of plaintiff’s Roku device along with the plaintiff’s viewing history.
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