A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin provides guidance on application of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) to modern data sharing practices, particularly involving online video sellers and the disclosure of customer information to social media companies and data brokers. The court denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action, allowing claims to proceed against a nonprofit video seller accused of sharing customers’ video purchase histories and personally identifiable information (PII) without consent.
Applicability of the VPPA to Nonprofit Video Sellers
The court held that the VPPA’s definition of a “video tape service provider” is not limited to for-profit entities. A nonprofit organization that regularly sells prerecorded video content to sustain itself can be considered “engaged in the business” of video sales under the statute. The court rejected arguments that nonprofit status exempts an entity from VPPA obligations.
Broad Interpretation of Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
The court adopted an expansive view of what constitutes PII under the VPPA. It found that unique identification numbers (such as social media account IDs) associated with a customer, when paired with information about specific video purchases, qualify as PII—even if such identifiers must be combined with other data to identify an individual. The court declined to follow the narrower “ordinary person” standard adopted by some other circuits, reasoning that the VPPA’s text and purpose support a broader, technology-neutral approach.
Disclosures to Data Brokers
The court found that allegations of a video seller monetizing customer data by selling or renting mailing lists to data brokers are sufficient to state a VPPA claim, even if the data broker’s website claims not to sell such lists directly. The existence of mailing lists containing customer names and video purchases, and the seller’s access to such lists, supported a plausible inference of unauthorized disclosure.
Manza v. Pesi, Inc., 784 F. Supp. 3d 1110 (W.D. Wis. 2025).
