Case against Netflix for data concealment and surveillance
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The US state of Texas has sued streaming giant Netflix for illegally collecting users’ personal information and making the platform addictive. Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a 59-page complaint Monday (May 11) in a Dallas-area court.
According to the lawsuit, Netflix is described as a massive data repository. Allegedly, the company routinely tracks and logs users’ viewing habits, likes and dislikes, and other sensitive behavioral data.
In a news release, Paxton claimed Netflix was conducting surveillance on children and general consumers in Texas. This collected information is then provided to advertisers, so that they can target specific advertisements to customers.
The lawsuit also alleges that Netflix is using technology that makes young viewers addicted to the platform. Notable among these is the ‘Autoplay’ function.
This is enabled by default on all profiles, including children’s profiles. This results in automatically starting the next episode as soon as one episode ends, keeping viewers glued to the screen for a long time.
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Currently, Ken Paxton is involved in a primary battle against incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the US Senate election. In a statement, the attorney general said, ‘Netflix is not as ad-free or child-friendly as it claims to be. Instead, they are making billions of dollars by misleading consumers and using their personal information.
A court injunction has also been sought to prohibit the collection or disclosure of customer information during the course of the lawsuit. Violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act carry a maximum civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each offense.
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