Facebook finally let its users turn off Beacon last week, but the legal fun is just beginning, according to one expert.

James Grimmelmann who writes The Laboratorium blog, suggests that Blockbuster's participation in Beacon could have violated the Video Privacy Protection Act. The law states:

A video tape service provider who knowingly discloses, to any person, personally identifiable information concerning any consumer of such provider shall be liable . . .

The problem is that Blockbuster.com, which was one of Beacon's 12 landmark partners, disclosed the video preferences of some of its users in Facebook's news feeds. Grimmelmann thinks the companies stemmed their liability by implementing an opt-out policy last week, but still advises Facebook and Blockbuster to "prepare for lawsuits."

Facebook wasn't immediately available to comment.

Photo: Flickr/Billypalooza

See Also: