What happened
On October 21, 2024, a U.S. appeals court revived a class action lawsuit against the NBA, which had been accused of allowing Facebook to collect personal data from viewers of its online videos without consent.
Michael Salazar, who subscribed to the NBA’s email newsletter, claimed the NBA shared his data with Facebook, violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Salazar, as a newsletter subscriber who provided personal data like email and IP addresses, qualified as a “consumer” under the VPPA.
The NBA argued that the 1988 VPPA only applies to consumers who rent, purchase, or subscribe specifically to video content, not to those who watch free videos. They likened it to a hardware store scenario where only customers who bought items could sue under the VPPA for watching free instructional videos, not those who watched without buying anything.
Despite the NBA’s arguments, the court decided the VPPA’s definition of “consumer” is broad and relevant to modern digital interactions, emphasizing that privacy protections are still strong today. Salazar’s case will return to U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon for further proceedings.