Texas sues Netflix over data collection and deceptive practices

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Netflix on Monday, accusing the streaming company of collecting consumer data illegally, including information from minors, and designing its platform to be addictive.

The lawsuit was filed in a state court in Collin County, near Dallas. Paxton alleges that Netflix falsely represented to consumers for years that it did not collect or share user data, when the company actually tracked and sold viewers' habits and preferences to commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies, generating billions of dollars annually.

According to the lawsuit, Netflix collected information about "user events," including location data, the devices users were employing, search terms, content ratings, and viewing habits. The company also tracked user devices, home networks, and other sensitive data, with that surveillance extending to children's profiles as well.

Paxton claims Netflix promoted itself as an "escape from Big Tech surveillance" to drive subscriptions, but changed course when it introduced an ad-supported streaming plan in 2022. Co-founder Reed Hastings had previously promised the company would not pursue an advertising model.

The lawsuit states that Netflix's move into digital advertising allowed the company to use "the mountains of data it quietly extracted from the children and families." Paxton accuses Netflix of building a "behavior-surveillance program" designed to exploit users in ways similar to the Big Tech companies Netflix had once criticized.

The filing also alleges that Netflix used "dark patterns" to keep users watching, including an autoplay feature that automatically starts a new show when a different program ends. Paxton contends the platform was designed to generate addiction among its users.

Netflix is based in Los Gatos, California. The company has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit.