Clement argues statutory context limits the relevant goods and services
Paul D. ClementCounsel for Paramount Global at Supreme Court oral argument
Clement argues that the surrounding statutory language limits the relevant goods and services to audiovisual materials.
“it takes its meaning from the immediate surrounding text.”
Original text
Where this statement fits
Paramount says a newsletter subscription does not confer video-privacy protections; Salazar disagrees
Paramount argues that the Video Privacy Protection Act protects a subscriber only when the subscription concerns audiovisual goods or services. Michael Salazar argues that his newsletter subscription is enough to qualify him as a consumer under the statute.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
Counsel dispute the meaning of consumer in the Video Privacy Protection Act. The argument concerns who may sue; it is not a finding that every element of Salazar's claim has been proved.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Clement disputed the premise that goods or services is an unrestricted phrase in the definition.
After the quotation
He used examples of unrelated purchases to explain why not every customer of a video provider should count as a protected consumer.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference is Paramount's narrow consumer definition. Clement defends that interpretation using the statutory context.
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“Salazar’s reading is not textualism but literalism”Read statement
America's Newspapers backs Paramount's consumer-status limit
America's Newspapers
“America’s Newspapers fully agrees with those arguments.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Clement argues statutory context limits the relevant goods and services". First published: 2026-10-17. Last updated: 2026-10-17. https://disputeindex.com/events/5892-clement-argues-that-the-surrounding-statutory-language-limits