Netflix is facing explosive accusations from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who claims the streaming giant has secretly turned millions of viewers — including children — into data points for profit.
In a newly filed lawsuit, Paxton’s office accuses Netflix of operating what it describes as a massive surveillance-style data collection system disguised as a family-friendly entertainment platform. The lawsuit claims Netflix illegally gathered detailed information about Texans without their knowledge or proper consent, tracking everything from viewing habits and personal preferences to household networks, devices, and app usage.
The attorney general’s office didn’t hold back in its announcement, blasting Netflix as “a logging company that records and monetizes billions of behavioral events — and occasionally streams movies.”
According to the lawsuit, virtually every click, pause, scroll, and binge-watch session allegedly became valuable behavioral data for the company. State officials claim the information was then monetized in ways many users never realized were happening.
Even more alarming, the lawsuit claims children were also swept into the alleged tracking operation.
Texas officials argue Netflix intentionally engineered its platform to keep viewers glued to their screens for as long as possible. One major target in the complaint is the streamer’s autoplay feature, which the lawsuit says creates an endless loop of content designed to keep both adults and kids watching for extended periods of time.
Paxton’s office alleges the company violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and accused Netflix of misleading customers about its privacy protections and “kid-friendly” image.
“Netflix has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent,” Paxton said in a fiery statement. “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.”
Netflix quickly fired back at the accusations, calling the lawsuit misleading and inaccurate.
“[T]his lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information,” the company said in a statement to ABC News. Netflix also insisted it complies with privacy and data protection laws everywhere it operates and defended what it called its “industry-leading” parental controls and transparent privacy practices.
The legal showdown could become one of the biggest privacy battles yet involving a major streaming company — especially as concerns continue growing over how Big Tech companies collect, store, and profit from user behavior online.
Now the fight over what Americans watch — and what companies know about them while they watch — may end up playing out in court.
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