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Texas AG sues Netflix for deceptive autoplay spying.

5/12/2026

Summary

Paxton Sues Netflix

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Netflix on May 11, 2026, alleging the service spies on users.
The complaint claims Netflix’s dark-pattern autoplay violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, seeking injunctions and $10,000 fines.
Paxton demands disabling autoplay on children’s profiles and ending targeted ads without consent, a suit that Netflix called meritless while he runs for Senate.

Summary

Texas Sues Netflix

Texas filed a lawsuit against Netflix alleging unlawful data-sharing practices.
Netflix introduced a lower-cost ad-supported subscription tier in late 2022 after previously denying any advertising plans.
The complaint says Netflix processes over 10 million user events per second and collects about five petabytes daily.
State filings name Google Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, Experian and Acxiom as data-sharing partners.
Analysts say the lawsuit could reshape how families perceive Netflix’s ad-free subscription model.

History

Historical Context

After the FTC imposed a $22.5 million penalty on Google in 2012 for privacy violations, it pursued further consumer-protection actions, including a 2020 antitrust case with 46 states against Meta. Building on that precedent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a 2026 lawsuit accusing Netflix of harvesting five petabytes of data, seeking to broaden state authority over digital platforms.

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Paxton Sues Netflix

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Netflix on May 11, 2026, alleging the service spies on users.
The complaint claims Netflix’s dark-pattern autoplay violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, seeking injunctions and $10,000 fines.
Paxton demands disabling autoplay on children’s profiles and ending targeted ads without consent, a suit that Netflix called meritless while he runs for Senate.

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