Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Netflix on Monday, accusing the streaming company of illegally collecting and profiting from Texans’ personal data, including data tied to children.
The lawsuit, filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, claims Netflix misled consumers for years by presenting itself as an ad-free, kid-friendly alternative to Big Tech while allegedly building a large-scale data collection and advertising operation.
Lawsuit Targets Data Collection
Paxton’s office alleges Netflix tracked users’ viewing habits, preferences, devices, household networks, app usage, and other behavioral data without adequate disclosure or consent.
The lawsuit claims the tracking extended to children’s profiles and that Netflix later disclosed user information to commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies.
“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 in a news release. “Netflix is not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be. Instead, it has misled consumers while exploiting their private data to make billions. I will continue to work to protect Texas families from deceptive practices by Big Tech companies and ensure that corporations are held accountable under Texas law.”
Autoplay Also Challenged
The lawsuit also targets Netflix’s autoplay feature, alleging the company uses platform design to keep users, including children, watching for longer periods of time.
The state is asking a court to stop the alleged unlawful collection and disclosure of user data, require Netflix to disable autoplay by default on children’s profiles, and impose civil penalties.
The petition also asks the court to order Netflix to purge data allegedly collected from Texans through deceptive practices, block the use of Texans’ data for targeted advertising without express informed consent, and bar the collection of children’s behavioral data without parental consent.
Dallas Connection Cited
The lawsuit also points to Netflix’s physical presence in Texas, including Netflix House Dallas at Galleria Dallas.
The petition describes Netflix House Dallas as one of only two such Netflix venues in the United States and alleges the Dallas location helps promote the company’s streaming service to Texas consumers.
Texas argues Netflix falls under the state’s jurisdiction because the company does business here, collects data from Texas users, and maintains a physical presence in the state.
Company Has Not Responded
Reuters reported Monday that Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is the latest action from Paxton targeting major technology and media companies over alleged data privacy practices. The case was filed in Collin County, according to the state’s petition.
