The state of Texas is holding Netflix accountable for allegedly breaking the trust of its subscribers by engaging in invasive data collection and deceptive business practices.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a lawsuit against the streaming behemoth, accusing the company of 'spying' on Texans—including children—to monetize billions of data points regarding user behavior.
While Netflix marketed itself as a privacy-conscious alternative to other Big Tech surveillance operations, the state’s filing paints a different picture: a company that utilized addictive features like auto-play to keep users glued to their screens while quietly logging every click and interaction.
According to the lawsuit, Netflix allegedly began sharing this extracted data with commercial brokers in 2022 to generate massive revenue, directly contradicting its own public image. The state asserts that this conduct violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Paxton is now seeking a court order to force Netflix to purge the data it collected deceptively, cease targeted advertising based on this information, and disable auto-play by default for children’s profiles.
Netflix has denied the allegations, claiming it complies with privacy laws, but the state is prepared to fight to ensure that Texas families are no longer treated as products for corporate profit.
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