Date: 04-22-2008
Blockbuster has been dragged to court by a Texan woman named Cathryn Harris who has filed a lawsuit over the video rental giant's alleged participation in Facebook's Beacon program. The lawsuit accuses Blockbuster of breaking the provisions of the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1998 by revealing personal video rental and sales records to a third party without the customer's permission. Harris contends that even after Facebook users have opted out of the Beacon program, their personal information is still leaked to the website. Blockbuster, meanwhile, has admitted no wrongdoing, saying that customers can only share information after having subscribed to the online video rental service. The online video rental giant also has other problems, the foremost being a lack of funds to take over Circuit City. Moreover, sources say that Circuit City is not inclined to reveal its balance sheet to Blockbuster, which is still mulling over the financial aspects of the potential deal and is expected to withdraw the bid if the conditions are found unsatisfactory.
