Bill Paves the Way for Netflix to Add Social Sharing Tools

Netflix is gearing up to add something you’ve been wanting for a long time. What? No, it’s not HBO content. No, it’s not a better selection of new movies. This is bigger! Better! It’s…”social features.” That’s right, Netflix is getting closer to letting you share your viewing habits with friends. Keep holding your breath for that HBO content, if you insist.
 

An amendment to the Video Privacy Protection Act should make it easier for Netflix to get digital permission from its users to add features that would let them share tidbits about their movie preferences on social networks, such as Facebook. (Some non-U.S. Netflix users already have the ability to link their Netflix and Facebook accounts.) Details on Netflix’s social ambitions have yet to firm up, and it hasn’t given any dates for when such features might arrive, but given Netflix’s apparent interest (the company publicly backed the bill), it seems like we won’t have to wait long for more details to emerge.