Meta · BBC Technology
Texas accuses Netflix of spying on users, including children
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Netflix has been sued in Texas over claims it collects data belonging to children and adults in the US state without their consent, and uses "addictive" design to keep them hooked.
Key facts
- It quotes the company's former boss Reed Hastings as having said in 2019 and 2020 that it did not and would not collect or monetise user data, such as to sell ads
- In 2022, it says, the company also began "leveraging the mountains of data it quietly extracted from the children and families it kept fixated on their screen"
- sharing this with commercial data
- In short, Netflix sold subscriptions to its programming as an escape from Big Tech surveillance: pay monthly, avoid tracking," the lawsuit states
- Attorney General Paxton's office said it believed the company had violated the state's laws, namely the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act which forbids "false, deceptive, or misleading acts
Summary
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the streaming giant of "spying" on citizens saying it "records and monetises billions" of pieces of information about how users behave on the platform, despite suggesting otherwise. "Every interaction on the platform became a data point revealing information about the user," his office said. Netflix has rejected the claims and says it will challenge them in court, according to a statement shared with Reuters. "Respectfully to the great state of Texas and Attorney General Paxton, this lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information," a Netflix spokesperson told the news agency.