House Approves Netflix-Backed Privacy Bill

Will make it easier for companies like Netflix to share customers' viewing habits online

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Netflix-backed bill today that would make it easier for people to share their video-viewing habits online, while failing to act on an e-mail privacy measure.

By voice vote, members of the House approved H.R. 6671, which amends the Video Privacy Protection Act to allow video rental companies to obtain consent from customers in order to share information about their viewing preferences on social networks. Originally passed in 1988, the law was enacted after a newspaper printed the video rental history of Judge Robert H. Bork during his Supreme Court nomination hearings.