You qualify when you show an account with the video provider plus covered viewing during the class period. The Video Privacy Protection Act, the federal video-privacy law, protects renters, purchasers, and subscribers from unlawful disclosure of their video requests. Most settlements ask for attestation and notice credentials, not viewing logs.
That proof is narrower than many people expect. Free app downloads and indirect logins often fail the subscriber test. The checks below show what counts, what to submit, and what blocks payment.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Cornell — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official notice from Openclassactions — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- Who counts as a consumer?
- What viewing and sharing must have occurred?
- What do you file to prove membership?
- What commonly fails the test?
- How much can you receive?
Who counts as a consumer?
Federal law defines a VPPA consumer as any renter, purchaser, or subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute sets out that definition in the text of 18 U.S.C. Section 2710.
Settlement classes build directly on that language and require that account link. The Eleventh Circuit requires a subscriber to show commitment, relationship, or association with the provider itself. Merely downloading a free app is not enough. Covington and Burling Inside Privacy explains that limit in its April 2017 analysis of video-app rulings.
What viewing and sharing must have occurred?
The law bars a provider from knowingly disclosing information that identifies a person as having requested specific videos. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute notes disclosure is allowed only with informed written consent or narrow exceptions. Recent cases allege the Facebook Pixel sent the viewer's Facebook ID plus watched titles or URLs to Meta.
OpenClassActions reports those claims involved subscribers who watched video while logged into Facebook without consent. Typical classes cover United States subscribers who held an account and watched prerecorded video while logged in during a dated period. OpenClassActions details those Pixel claims and the May 9, 2023 to May 16, 2025 SportsEdTV dates in its updated SportsEdTV settlement summary.
What do you file to prove membership?
You usually prove membership by sworn statement, not by producing watch history. The official claim form asks you to attest that you meet the class definition.
OpenClassActions reports SportsEdTV claimants use that attestation plus Login ID and PIN rather than viewing logs in its updated SportsEdTV settlement summary. Keep your notice until payment issues and save a copy of your submission.
- Use the Login ID and PIN from your mailed notice
- Confirm your account and viewing during the class dates
- File before the stated deadline with current contact and payment choice
What commonly fails the test?
Indirect access alone can fail the subscriber test. One court treated use of cable-provider credentials without a direct account or personal data given to the video provider as only ephemeral commitment.
Covington and Burling Inside Privacy describes that ephemeral-commitment finding for indirect users. Viewing outside the dated class period also fails, even with a valid account. Watching while logged out, or as a guest without an account, does not meet typical class language.
How much can you receive?
Federal law provides liquidated damages of $2,500 per violation. Privacy Law Network and Taft Law note class settlements pay much smaller pro rata shares.
Your check depends on valid claim volume and any court-approved deductions. You must file before the claims deadline stated in the notice. Late or duplicate filings do not pay, even if viewing qualifies.