Florida just added Netflix to its growing list of tech targets. On Wednesday, state Attorney General James Uthmeier sued the streamer, accusing it of luring families with promises of privacy and no ads while secretly building a data-hungry ad business and using design features that hook kids into watching more, NBC News reports.
- "Netflix told Florida families they could pay a monthly fee to escape Big Tech surveillance. That was false," Uthmeier said. "Netflix collected detailed data on children and families, designed its product to keep kids watching, and then commercialized that information to launch the advertising business it promised never to build."
The 66-page complaint claims Netflix logged billions of behavioral data points—what users watched, paused, skipped—and used autoplay to keep children and adults engaged, then leveraged that data to power its ad-supported tier launched in 2022. Netflix calls the case baseless, saying it follows privacy laws, has protections for kids, and will "vigorously" fight the suit. Florida is seeking a jury trial and an order forcing Netflix to delete data allegedly obtained deceptively.
Uthmeier, a Republican who is seeking re-election, has targeted other tech companies this year, Politico reports. In June, he sued TikTok and OpenAI, accusing both companies of putting profits ahead of safety. "We're going to send a message to Big Tech companies: if you hurt our kids, you are going to have to pay for it," he said Wednesday while announcing the Netflix lawsuit. "And so, in this lawsuit, we will be seeking billions of damages."
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