Texas Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Netflix
Netflix is facing a lawsuit in Texas alleging that it collects data from children and adults in the state without their consent and employs "addictive" design features to keep users engaged on its platform.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Netflix of "spying" on residents, stating that the company "records and monetises billions" of data points about user behavior, despite publicly suggesting otherwise.
"Every interaction on the platform became a data point revealing information about the user,"
his office said.
Netflix has denied these allegations and announced plans to contest the lawsuit in court, according to a statement provided to .
"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.
"Netflix takes our members' privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data protection laws everywhere we operate."
The BBC has reached out to Netflix for further comment.
Details of the Complaint
The complaint, filed on Monday by Texas' top prosecutor, asserts:
"When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you."
The filing highlights that Netflix has positioned itself as distinct from other major technology companies in its approach to data processing and advertising.
It cites statements made by Netflix's former CEO Reed Hastings in 2019 and 2020, where he claimed the company did not and would not collect or monetise user data for advertising purposes.
However, the lawsuit alleges that Netflix employed a combination of "addictive" design elements, such as auto-playing content, alongside extensive logging of user activity to maintain user engagement.
The filing specifies that among the billions of technical events recorded were details about what users clicked on, how long they lingered on content, and other behavioral metrics.
In 2022, the complaint states, Netflix began "leveraging the mountains of data it quietly extracted from the children and families it kept fixated on their screen" by sharing this information with commercial data brokers, generating billions of dollars in revenue.
"In short, Netflix sold subscriptions to its programming as an escape from Big Tech surveillance: pay monthly, avoid tracking,"
the lawsuit states.
"Texans trusted that bargain. Netflix broke it - constructing the very data-collection system rs paid to escape."
Legal Implications and Requested Remedies
Attorney General Paxton's office contends that Netflix violated Texas state laws, specifically the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which prohibits "false, deceptive, or misleading acts and practices in the course of trade and commerce."
The attorney general has the authority to seek penalties against entities found to have engaged in such conduct.
In this case, the office is requesting that the court order Netflix to delete any data "deceptively collected from Texans," cease processing their data for targeted advertising, and disable the auto-play feature by default on children's profiles.
This lawsuit emerges amid growing scrutiny of platform design features such as auto-play and infinite scroll, which critics argue encourage unhealthy, prolonged user engagement.
Experts have noted that the recent success of a California lawsuit holding Meta and YouTube potentially liable for the addictive design of their platforms could pave the way for similar legal actions.
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