The best thing I've seen on Netflix lately is Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"--a documentary about the Chauvet cave paintings in France, which are the earliest known examples of representational art in the world, created 30,000 years ago. The worst thing I've seen is a 20-way tie among all the Barney the Dinosaur videos my daughter watches while I am getting her breakfast.
My support for the Video Privacy Protection Act is not based on any fear about word getting out about my interest in paleolithic art, or my daughter's interest in purple dinosaurs. Rather, I am generally supportive of the public's right to be left alone, and I do not think it is right for companies to profit from information about me without asking my permission.
Right now, there is an effort underway in Washington D.C. to substantially limit the VPAA's protection. This is the wrong direction for Congress. Rather than undermining existing privacy protections (the few that we have), Congress should devote its time and energy to updating and expanding our privacy laws to take account of new technologies and new techniques for exploiting our personal information.
My friend Chris Calabrese has put together an excellent explanation of why we have the VPAA. He and his colleagues at the ACLU's National Legislative Office have crafted some very persuasive arguments for why we should keep it intact.
