Texas accuses Netflix of spying on users, including children

According to the filing, the streaming company championed itself as unlike other big tech firms in how it processed data and advertised to users.It quotes the company's former boss Reed Hastings as having said in 2019 and 2020 that it did not and would not collect or monetise user data, such as to sell ads.But the filing says Netflix used a combination of "addictive" design features, like auto-playing content, and extensive "logging" of user activity to keep people on the site.Among billions of technical events it recorded were what users would click and linger on, and for how long, the filing adds.In 2022, it says, the company also began "leveraging the mountains of data it quietly extracted from the children and families it kept fixated on their screen" - sharing this with commercial data brokers to help raise billions of dollars in revenue."In short, Netflix sold subscriptions to its programming as an escape from Big Tech surveillance: pay monthly, avoid tracking," the lawsuit states."Texans trusted that bargain. Netflix broke it - constructing the very data-collection system subscribers paid to escape."Design scrutinyAttorney General Paxton's office said it believed the company had violated the state's laws, namely the Texas-deceptive-trade-practices-act" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="125834" data-entity-type="event">Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act which forbids "false, deceptive, or misleading acts and practices in the course of trade and commerce".