Texas sues Netflix over alleged data collection from children and users
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Netflix, accusing the streaming company of secretly collecting and monetizing personal data from users, including children, while promoting itself as an ad-free and kid-friendly platform. Netflix denied the allegations.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Collin County under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Attorney General Paxton is seeking civil penalties, restrictions on the collection and disclosure of user data, and an order requiring Netflix to turn off autoplay by default on children’s profiles.
The lawsuit alleges the company spent years telling subscribers that its paid service shielded them from the data-driven advertising practices used by other technology platforms.
According to the complaint, Netflix publicly represented that it did not sell advertising or rely on extensive user data, while building systems that recorded viewing habits, searches, pauses, rewinds, device information, household networks and other user behavior.
The lawsuit says that data collection also applied to children’s profiles, which Netflix allegedly marketed to parents as safe and separate spaces for children 12 and under.
Paxton’s office said Netflix later used the data as part of its advertising business, including through commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies. The complaint names companies including Experian, Acxiom, Google Display & Video 360 and The Trade Desk as part of Netflix’s broader advertising ecosystem.
The lawsuit also targets Netflix’s autoplay feature, which automatically starts another episode or promotional video after content ends. Texas alleges the feature is designed to keep users, including children, watching for longer periods and generating more behavioral data.
“Netflix has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent, and my office will do everything in our power to stop it,” Paxton said.
Paxton said Netflix is “not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be” and accused the company of misleading consumers while exploiting private data.
Netflix rejected the lawsuit, saying it follows privacy and data-protection laws.
“Respectfully to the great state of Texas and Attorney General Paxton, this lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information,” Netflix said in a statement. “Netflix takes our members’ privacy seriously and complies with privacy and dataprotection laws everywhere we operate.”
“We look forward to addressing the Texas Attorney General’s allegations in court and further explaining our industry-leading, kidfriendly parental controls and transparent privacy practices,” the company said.
The lawsuit asks a judge to bar Netflix from collecting, sharing, selling or using Texans’ data without clear notice and consent. It also seeks an order requiring Netflix to purge data that Texas says was deceptively collected and to stop collecting children’s behavioral data without parental consent.
Texas is seeking up to $10,000 per violation under the state’s deceptive trade practices law, along with other penalties, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
