Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking Netflix to court, claiming the streaming service has been operating a deceptive bait and switch scheme.
The lawsuit, filed in Collin County, alleges that Netflix has been covertly spying on its millions of users including children to harvest personal data despite promising privacy. According to the state, the platform then sells this sensitive information to advertisers and data brokers to line its pockets with billions in extra revenue. The legal complaint pulls no punches, arguing that every click and view is turned into a commodity.
The Attorney General’s office stated in a release that “Every interaction on the platform became a data point revealing information about the user. This tracking applied to not only adults’ accounts, but also kids’ profiles.” They further alleged that this data is being “shopped across Big Ad Tech’s shadowy network,” exposing families to a level of surveillance they never signed up for.
A major pillar of the lawsuit focuses on how Netflix keeps people watching. Texas officials claim that features like autoplay which triggers a new episode the moment the previous one ends are not just for convenience. Instead, the suit argues they are “features that are designed to manipulate users” into staying on the platform longer than intended. The state’s argument is that more screen time directly equals more data to mine. “Netflix’s endgame is simple and lucrative: get children and families glued to the screen, harvest their data while they are stuck there, and then monetize the data for a handsome profit,” the complaint alleges. In a pointed warning to consumers, the filing adds, “When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you.”
Netflix is not staying silent, a spokesperson for the company told PEOPLE that the claims are “based on inaccurate and distorted information” and completely “lacks merit.”
The company insists that they operate within the bounds of the law and prioritize the safety of their younger audience. “Netflix takes our members’ privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data‑protection laws everywhere we operate,” the statement continued, noting that they look forward to showcasing their “industry-leading, kid‑friendly parental controls” in court.
Texas is pushing for Netflix to disable the autoplay feature by default on all children’s profiles, stop the alleged illegal collection and sharing of private user data, and pay civil fines that could reach $10,000 for every single violation. Ken Paxton, who is currently seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, emphasized that “Netflix is not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be.” He argued that the company has “misled consumers while exploiting their private data to make billions.”
This case adds to a growing wave of litigation against tech giants. Just this past March, a New Mexico jury hammered Meta and YouTube with a $3 million verdict after a young woman accused them of using “deliberately addictive” designs. As the Big Tech legal battle intensifies, the outcome of this Texas lawsuit could change how we and our children interact with streaming services forever.
