Attorney General James Uthmeier Takes Legal Action Against Netflix for Deceiving Florida Families and Harvesting Children’s Data

 

 

Attorney General James Uthmeier Takes Legal Action Against Netflix for Deceiving Florida Families and Harvesting Children’s Data

Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC

 

 

 

FL AG press relase
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Netflix, alleging the streaming company spent years promising Florida families a paid, ad-free service that would not collect or sell their data—then tracked children on kids profiles and launched the advertising business it vowed never to create.
 
“Netflix told Florida families they could pay a monthly fee to escape Big Tech surveillance. That was false,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “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. Parents, not corporate executives, direct the upbringing of their children. Netflix should expect to be held accountable.”
 
According to the complaint, Netflix’s chief executive told the public, “We don’t collect anything,” and said the company was a “safe respite” where families could “relax and have none of the controversy around exploiting users with advertising.”.
 
The complaint alleges those representations were a bait-and-switch. The State alleges that Netflix records billions of behavioral events—what devices Floridians and their children use, where they are when they use them, and what content they watch, pause, rewind, search, skip, and abandon—then uses that information to train algorithms and power advertising.
 
The lawsuit alleges Netflix misled parents about kids profiles. Netflix markets those profiles as a child’s “own space,” “Great for kids,” and intended for ages 12 and under, and tells parents it, “do[es] not engage in behavioral advertising on Kids profiles.” That assurance is a half-truth: Netflix still collects and analyzes children’s viewing behavior through the same systems used on adults.
 
After launching ads in November 2022, Netflix opened Floridians’ data to commercial data brokers and advertising platforms, allowing advertisers to target Floridians by life stage, income, and household composition. The complaint alleges Netflix never obtained the consent Florida law requires.
 
The lawsuit charges Netflix with violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida Digital Bill of Rights, including by selling sensitive personal data collected from known children without prior consent. The Attorney General seeks a permanent injunction, an order requiring Netflix to purge data deceptively collected from Floridians, an end to dark-pattern designs that keep children watching, civil penalties, and other relief authorized by Florida law.
 
This action is part of Florida’s ongoing effort to protect children, empower parents, and hold Big Tech accountable.