Netflix accused of illegal data collection and making its platform addictive to children

Netflix denies wrongdoing in a lawsuit that claims it makes its viewing experience addictive to children.

A Texas prosecutor has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, accusing the streaming giant of improperly collecting users’ information.

Perhaps more damning, the United States lawsuit also claims that the platform has been purposefully designed to be addictive - especially to children.

State Attorney-General Ken Paxton, a Republican, filed a 59-page lawsuit which begins: “When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you”.

Paxton described the streamer as a giant data repository where it tracked and logged users’ viewing habits, preferences and “other sensitive behavioural data”.

Netflix provided these inputs to advertisers so they could better target the company’s subscribers, the lawsuit in Texas state court alleges.

It also claims that Netflix employs techniques that would make young viewers become addicted to the platform.

These include an “autoplay” function that activates on the default setting, meaning that once one show episode ends another automatically begins.

In a statement, Netflix said: “This lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information. Netflix takes our members’ privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data‑protection laws everywhere we operate.”

Paxton, who is engaged in a tight Republican primary contest for the US Senate against incumbent John Cornyn, said in a 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.”

The lawsuit asks for injunctions prohibiting Netflix from collecting or disclosing data on consumers during the litigation.

The complaint also seeks civil penalties of up to US$10,000 ($16,760) for each violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a Texas state law.

- AFP