• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 6, 2024

Handing a victory to Amazon, a federal judge has dismissed claims that the company violated Prime Video users' privacy by allegedly sharing information about their online video-viewing with other Amazon-affiliated companies as well as outside businesses.

In a decision issued Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart in the Western District of Washington ruled that the allegations in the lawsuit, if proven true, wouldn't show that Amazon disclosed personally identifiable video-viewing information.

The ruling comes in a battle dating to March, when Virginia resident Meredith Beagle and Louisiana resident Jordan Guerrero alleged in a class-action complaint that Amazon violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act -- a 1988 measure that prohibits video rental companies from revealing identifiable information about people's video-viewing history without their consent. Congress passed the law after a Washington, D.C. newspaper obtained Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's video rental history from a local store. 

Other users later joined in an amended complaint, which also included claims that Amazon violates state laws in California and Washington.

Beagle and the others specifically alleged that Amazon's Prime Video service provided other companies (both Amazon affiliates and outside businesses) with data such as access to titles of videos watched, billing addresses and location data.

Amazon urged Robart to throw out the complaint for several reasons. Among other arguments, the company said allegations that it allowed access to data, even if proven true, wouldn't show that the company actually disclosed anything. Amazon also argued that intra-corporate disclosures are permitted by the video privacy law.

Robart agreed with Amazon that the plaintiffs' allegations regarding data sharing weren't solid enough to warrant further proceedings.

“Amazon is correct that plaintiffs allege, at most, the mere possibility that information could be disclosed,” Robart wrote.

He also dismissed claims that Amazon violated California or Washington state laws.

The ruling allows the plaintiffs to revise their claim that Amazon violated the federal video privacy law and attempt to proceed with that claim.