United States of America: Plaintiff appealed motion to dismiss in lawsuit concerning alleged unauthorised disclosure of video viewing history (Salazar v Paramount Global)

On 18 June 2024, Salazar appealed the Tennessee Court's motion to dismiss in a lawsuit concerning alleged unauthorised disclosure of video viewing history (Salazar v. Paramount Global). The Court for the Middle District of Tennessee had ruled Mr. Salazar's complaint could not be dismissed on grounds of "lack of subject-matter jurisdiction" under Rule 12(b)(1), because disclosure of personally identifying information to a third party is a concrete harm. However, it had also granted the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint for "failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted" under Rule 12(b)(6), on the basis that Salazar failed to plausibly allege he was a "subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider” under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). Central to this ruling was the reasoning that his subscription to the newsletter was not sufficient to establish subscription to audio visual materials. On appeal, Salazar claims that the Tennessee Court erred in granting Paramount’s motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).