Netflix is facing a new legal battle in the United States. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the streaming platform, accusing it of illegally collecting personal data and designing tools to encourage excessive consumption, particularly among children.
Texas denounces massive data collection
According to a complaint filed in a civil court near Dallas, Netflix allegedly recorded and used a significant amount of user information without sufficient consent. The Republican prosecutor accuses the platform of tracking viewing habits, devices used, and other personal data in order to use it for targeted advertising or to share it with companies specializing in marketing and data analytics.
In court documents relayed by AFP and Time magazine, Ken Paxton argues that the group's strategy is based on "keeping Texans and their children glued to a screen" in order to collect as much usable information as possible.
The case is based on Texas's Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). The prosecutor also alleges that Netflix publicly downplayed the extent of its data collection practices while "monetizing billions of signals."
Automatic video playback specifically targeted
One of the main points of the complaint concerns profiles aimed at children. Texas accuses Netflix of using mechanisms considered addictive, including autoplaying episodes enabled by default.
According to the prosecution, these features constitute “dark patterns,” design techniques aimed at prolonging time spent on the platform without active user input. The prosecutor is specifically requesting that autoplay be automatically disabled on children's profiles.
Texas is also demanding the deletion of illegally collected data, a halt to its use for advertising purposes, and penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
Netflix strongly denies these accusations. In a statement sent to several media outlets, the platform asserts that the procedure “is based on inaccurate and incomplete information.” The company maintains that it complies with data protection laws in all the countries where it operates and claims to use “only a limited amount of data” concerning children.
This case is part of a broader wave of lawsuits targeting major American digital platforms regarding privacy and screen addiction. Earlier this year, Meta and Google were already convicted in a similar case in Los Angeles.
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