Supreme Court weighs privacy Rights in Paramount tracking case

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Salazar v. Paramount, a case challenging whether a 1988 privacy law protects digital video viewers from corporate data sharing. Michael Salazar, a college sports fan, sued Paramount Global after the company disclosed his viewing history to Facebook via a tracking pixel embedded in 247Sports videos without his written consent.

Lower courts dismissed Salazar's class-action lawsuit, ruling that his newsletter subscription did not qualify him as a "consumer" under the Video Privacy Protection Act. The statute, passed in 1988 following the release of Justice Robert Bork's movie rental history, prohibits videotape service providers from disclosing personally identifiable information without consent.

During oral arguments, several Republican-nominated justices questioned whether the 1980s-era law should apply to modern digital streaming. Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito suggested that a literal interpretation of the statute might be impractical for contemporary websites. Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett expressed concern that a broad ruling could expose any business with video content on its website to liability.

Read the full story at Slate.