Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Netflix on Monday, accusing the streaming company of spying on children and other consumers. The suit alleges that Netflix collected user data without consent and intentionally designed its platform to be addictive.
According to the complaint filed in a state court in Collin County, near Dallas, Netflix has falsely represented to consumers for years that it did not collect or share user data. Texas claims the company actually tracked viewing habits and preferences, selling this information to advertising technology companies and commercial data brokers to make billions of dollars annually.
The lawsuit highlights platform features such as auto-play, which Texas alleges are used to keep children watching and deliver endless content. The complaint references a 2020 statement from former Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings, who claimed the company did not collect any data to distinguish Netflix from companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Google.
This legal action comes amid increased scrutiny over platform features that deliver endless content to users. Netflix has described the lawsuit as meritless.