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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Hrmph. Too Bad I'm Hating Facebook: Facebook, Netflix Push Congress on Social Integration, Video Privacy | Fast Company

At today's Facebook F8 developer conference, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings joined Mark Zuckerberg on stage for a surprise announcement: Netflix will finally be integrating social sharing with Facebook. That is, if a bill that is sitting in Congress is ever able to pass on the House floor.

Ironically, Facebook has already had Netflix integration in 44 of the 45 countries the service is available. The one exception? The United States, where an outmoded bill from 1988 called the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) has forbidden the disclosure of one's video rental information, and thus any integration between the two American companies. But a bill called H.R. 2471 would change all that--if Congress can find time between tax legislation and debt issues to pass it.

"Luckily the U.S. has a bill today in Congress to update that old privacy, which will then allow us to turn it on in the United States," Hastings said with a smile.

That phrasing might've excited some--making it sound as if Congress is weighing the issue today--but unfortunately, that's not the case. The House legislative calendar has no mention of H.R. 2471 on the docket.

Instead it appears Netflix is making a push for the legislation to be passed, posting a email members of Congress to "modernize" the legislation.

read the full post:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1782164/facebook-netflix-push-congress-on-social-i...

Posted via email from Siobhan O'Flynn's 1001 Tales

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