Hulu to Face Data Sharing Lawsuit

In the US, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler has turned down a request by ad-supported video content platform Hulu to dismiss a lawsuit which accused it of illegally sharing users' viewing history with Facebook and comScore.

Hulu had argued that viewers need to demonstrate 'actual injury' in order to receive damages under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). However, Beeler said that this act requires only injury in the form of a wrongful disclosure before damages might be available.

The case was brought by several people in California, Illinois and New York, who claimed that Hulu had allowed third parties to track their video viewing without their permission and that the firm had sent this information to comScore and Facebook. The plaintiffs are seeking damages of at least $2.5k per violation.

Hulu, which is a joint venture of NBCUniversal Television Group, Fox Broadcasting Company and Disney-ABC Television Group, has filed for a second motion to dismiss the case, claiming that it did not knowingly transmit user information to Facebook and comScore in a way which breached the VPPA code. The hearing will take place on February 6th 2014.