When Facebook rolled out its “frictionless sharing” functionality at F8, Netflix CEO and Facebook board member Reid Hastings took the stage to praise the new features. “Watching content because my friend is [watching] trumps the algorithm,” he said. But as the first partners launched — Hulu included — Netflix was not among them in the U.S.
That’s because Netflix’s legal team believes it’s too risky to launch while an old U.S. law is still in place. Passed in 1988 when video rental stores were commonplace, the Video Protection Privacy Act forbids video providers from revealing what people are watching, even if the users approved it in the first place (although that’s a bit of a grey area).
Netflix has been lobbying Congress on updating the legislation for a digital age, and the House approved a bill this week that allows companies to share viewing records if the user consents in advance. The bill was passed 303-116, and it heads to the Senate.
Integrating with Facebook would provide a big boost for Netflix — and it’s long overdue.