Texas Sues Netflix for Data Collection and Addictive Design
Texas sued Netflix alleging the streaming platform falsely represented its data collection practices while secretly tracking and selling user data to advertisers, and used dark patterns like autoplay features to addict viewers including children.
What happened
Texas sued Netflix on Monday, accusing the streaming company of spying on children and designing its platform to be addictive. Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, said Netflix has for years falsely represented to consumers that it did not collect or share user data, when it actually tracked and sold viewers' habits and preferences to commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies, making billions of dollars a year.
The company was accused of quietly using 'dark patterns' to keep users watching, including an autoplay feature that starts a new show when a different show ends. Paxton said Netflix marketed itself as a safe haven from data-hungry social networks when, in fact, it was engaged in similar information harvesting.
Reported impact
The lawsuit alleges Netflix's practices harmed young people through deceptive data collection and addictive design features that kept children engaged with the platform.
Index analysis
Texas cites a March Los Angeles jury verdict finding Meta and YouTube liable for designing addictive products that harmed young people as precedent for the lawsuit. Paxton stated that Netflix's former chief executive Reed Hastings claimed in 2020 'we don't collect anything', contradicting the company's actual practices.
Governance controls
Netflix issued a statement saying it takes members' privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data-protection laws everywhere it operates, and that it has 'industry-leading, kid-friendly parental controls and transparent privacy practices.'
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.