CEO of Hulu, a US online video service company, Jason Kilar explains the company’s service during a press preview of NTT DOCOMO’s new tablets in Tokyo, on September 8, 2011. DOCOMO will put two new tablet models onto the Japanese market with three-month-free hulu subscription from October this year. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo […]
Credit: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA
A US judge in San Francisco has ruled that a privacy lawsuit against Hulu will move forward. Reuters reports that in today’s ruling, US District Judge Laurel Beeler rejected the video service’s claim that in order for it to be a valid case, its viewers needed to display “actual injury”.
Beeler, however, concluded that “the statute requires only injury in the form of a wrongful disclosure” before damages might be available. She did not rule on the merits of the case.
The core issue of the class-action lawsuit is a claim that Hulu is illegally sharing its users viewing history with Facebook and market research and analytics firm comScore — a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988.
Customers in California, Illinois, and New York brought the case against Hulu and are seeking $2,500 per violation along with other compensation. They believe that Hulu willingly passed along viewing habits and behaviors to allow Facebook and comScore to advertise to them without their permission.
➤ Hulu must face privacy lawsuit, U.S. judge rules (Reuters)
Photo credit: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images
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