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Bill to allow Facebook users to share Netflix videos heads to president's desk
A bill that would allow users of Facebook and other social media sites to opt in to automatically share which videos they have watched on sites like Netflix unanimously cleared the Senate late Thursday night.
H.R. 6671, which passed the House last week, now heads to President Obama's desk for his signature.
Currently, Facebook users can choose to automatically reveal which songs they listen to and which articles they read. But the Video Privacy Protection Act bans the sharing of any video history information without written consent by the consumer for each video or a warrant from the police.
The change in the privacy law has been Netflix's top lobbying priority in Washington.
The company spent about $555,000 through the first three quarters of this year lobbying Congress to update the law, as well as on other issues such as net neutrality.
The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), is similar to legislation the House approved last year, H.R. 2471, but includes two changes suggested by the Senate.
First, it requires video rental companies to give consumers a "clear and conspicuous" option to withdraw their consent to share their rental choices at all times.
Second, it requires that companies obtain a consumer's consent again every 24 months.
When the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on the earlier version of the video privacy bill last month, Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) attached legislation that would have required police to obtain a warrant before reading people's emails, Facebook messages and other forms of electronic communication.
The bill that cleared Congress does not include Leahy's warrant protections, and that effort appears dead for this session.
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