Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, alleging that the platform has been collecting and sharing user data for years without clear consent. The documents state that data on viewing habits, devices used, home networks and user behavior while using the application were analyzed.
According to the allegations in the lawsuit, the company also publicly represented that it does not use user information for advertising purposes. The prosecution believes that the actual practice was different and that the data was used to create detailed user profiles intended for marketing partners.
Focus on profiles intended for children
One of the most serious parts of the lawsuit relates to the children’s orders. It is alleged that the platform tracked the activities of users under the age of 12, including how content was used and data related to the user’s location.
The prosecution claims that the company presented children’s profiles to parents as a safe digital environment, while simultaneously collecting large amounts of data on the behavior of the youngest users. Although there are no targeted ads on those profiles, the documents state that the information was still used for detailed analysis of user habits.
Involvement of marketing and analytical companies
The court documents mention that the data was allegedly shared with multiple external advertising and analytics partners. Among the mentioned companies are Experian, Acxiom and Google through the Display & Video 360 platform.
According to the prosecutor, location data obtained through IP addresses is linked to demographic information and content viewing habits. In this way, it is claimed, very precise marketing profiles of users were created, which were of great value to the advertising industry.
Disputed statements of company management
Special attention is focused on the earlier statements of the company’s leaders. The lawsuit alleges that in 2020, during a call with investors, former CEO Reed Hastings stated that the company does not collect user data for advertising purposes and is not part of controversies related to digital advertising.
On the other hand, the documentation also quotes a statement from a company engineer from 2016, who internally described the platform as a company focused on data collection, while movie streaming was presented as a secondary activity. The Prosecution believes that these statements show a discrepancy between public messages and the company’s internal practice.
They reject the charges and announce a defense
Netflix has denied all charges, saying the prosecution’s claims are based on inaccurate and misrepresented information. The company says that it operates in accordance with privacy and data protection laws in all markets where it is present.
In addition to financial penalties, Texas authorities are seeking a ban on further alleged illegal data collection, as well as an end to auto-starting content on children’s profiles. The lawsuit also reminds that the company already changed its privacy rules in 2024 after criticism from Dutch regulators, but that the explanations to users were still assessed as unclear and incomplete.
(Vijesti.ba)
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