Well, as CIPAWorld readers know well, the plaintiff’s bar has been absolutely RELENTLESS in trying to weaponize the 1980s-era Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”) against modern website operators using tracking pixels.
But we have another BIG WIN for the defense side to talk about today!
In Sherhonda Golden v. NBCUniversal Media, LLC, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals just handed down a massive decision affirming the dismissal of a VPPA class action against NBC. Golden v. NBCUniversal Media, LLC, No. 25-2226, 2026 WL 1098473 (2d Cir. Apr. 23, 2026).
Here’s the background. Golden claimed NBC violated the VPPA by embedding a “Facebook Pixel” on Today.com. She alleged that when she watched videos on the site, this invisible code automatically transmitted her unique Facebook ID and specific video-viewing history to Facebook without her consent.
Well, the Second Circuit ALREADY addressed this exact issue last year in Solomon v. Flipps Media, Inc. decision. In Solomon, the Court established the “ordinary person” test. For data to count as “Personally Identifiable Information” (“PII”) under the VPPA, an ordinary person has to be able to identify the user’s video-watching habits from it.
A string of code containing a URL and an encrypted ID number that only a sophisticated, multi-billion-dollar tech giant like Facebook can decipher? Yeah, that doesn’t count.
Golden didn’t even try to argue that her case was factually different from Solomon. Because, well, it wasn’t. Instead, she tried a legal Hail Mary, arguing that a trio of recent 2025 Supreme Court decisions (Ames, CC/Devas, and A. J. T.) somehow magically invalidated the Solomon precedent and demanded a new analysis. The Court did not agree with Plaintiff.
The Second Circuit explained that those Supreme Court decisions had absolutely NOTHING to do with the VPPA. They dealt with Title VII, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and the ADA. The only “rule” those cases affirmed is the longstanding principle that courts must stick strictly to the text of the statute—which is exactly what the Second Circuit did when it adopted the “ordinary person” test in Solomon!
To overturn binding precedent in the Second Circuit, you need a ruling that actually breaks the link of the prior decision’s reasoning. You can’t just wave a bunch of unrelated Supreme Court opinions and expect a three judge panel to overrule itself.
This is a HUGE win for media companies and website operators using targeted pixels. It’s a reminder that the VPPA’s “ordinary person” test remains the standard in the Second Circuit. Unless an ordinary, everyday person can look at your transmitted data and immediately figure out what the consumer is watching, it’s not PII under the VPPA. Period.
Of course, plaintiffs will keep trying to find new, creative angles to cash in on statutory damages. You MUST make sure you are handling consumer data correctly to avoid finding yourself in the crosshairs.
But for today? NBC walks away clean, and the VPPA pixel cases have another loss.
