A recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has held that Internet video streaming site Hulu.com is subject to the U.S. Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2710, reports Davis Wright Tremaine.

This marks the first time a court has subjected a provider of exclusively online streaming video services to the VPPA. The decision could have a wide-ranging impact on Internet video providers who may have viewed themselves as potentially not subject to the VPPA.

For an analysis of how this impacts on websites offering video streaming, see the Edwards Wildman post.