On May 11, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix, alleging the company illegally collected data from children and other consumers without consent and intentionally employed platform designs that encourage addiction.
The lawsuit asserts that Netflix has for years misled consumers by falsely claiming it does not collect or share user data. The allegations state that the company has in fact long tracked and sold users' viewing habits and preferences, generating billions of dollars in annual profit from this practice. Furthermore, the complaint accuses Netflix of covertly using manipulative design features, including "dark patterns" such as "autoplay," to continuously extend users' viewing time.
The lawsuit emphasizes that Netflix's core business objective is to make children and families "addicted to the screen," thereby enabling the mass harvesting of user data for monetization and substantial profit. Paxton is seeking a court order requiring Netflix to immediately destroy all illegally collected data, prohibiting the use of such data for targeted advertising without user consent, and imposing civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
In response to the lawsuit, a Netflix spokesperson denied the allegations, calling them "without merit" and based on inaccurate and distorted information. The spokesperson reiterated that Netflix strictly complies with all applicable privacy and data protection laws in every region where it operates.
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