Patreon Fights Video-Privacy Suit With First Amendment Challenge

The Video Privacy Protection Act violates the First Amendment by imposing a content-based restriction on speech without a sufficiently compelling reason, Patreon Inc. argued Friday during a hearing in federal court.

The company was asking the court to dismiss a proposed class action alleging that it shared consumers’ video usage information—including the titles of videos they watched and their Facebook IDs—with Facebook and other third parties in violation of the VPPA.

The federral law prohibits “video tape service providers” from sharing information linking consumers to the videos they’ve watched with third parties without obtaining the consumers’ written consent.

Magistrate Judge ...