Meghan Mollett v. Netflix, Inc.

Plaintiffs-Appellants Meghan Mollett and Tracy Hellwig appeal the district court’s dismissal of their claims against Defendant-Appellee Netflix, Inc. (“Net-flix”), a subscription video streaming service, for violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act (‘VPPA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2710 , and California Civil Code § 1799.3. On behalf of themselves and other similarly-situated Netflix subscribers, Plaintiffs allege that Netflix violated these statutes by permitting certain disclosures about their viewing history to third parties— specifically, subscribers’ family, friends, and guests. We conclude, however, that the complained-of disclosures were lawfully made to Netflix’s own subscribers and, therefore, are not actionable under the VPPA or the California Civil Code. We affirm the decision of the district court.

I.

Netflix is the world’s largest subscription service for viewing movies, television programs, and other video content. The company launched in 1999 as an online DVD rental service that delivers DVDs to subscribers through the mail, and expanded in 2007 to allow subscribers to stream videos instantly online. As of the filing of Plaintiffs’ complaint, Netflix had more…