Florida sues Netflix over alleged secret tracking of families and children

The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix, accusing the company of deceiving consumers about its advertising plans and secretly collecting data on children and families. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier stated that Netflix promised families an ad-free experience for a monthly fee but instead collected detailed behavioral data on users, including viewing habits and even when videos were paused.

Uthmeier alleged that Netflix leveraged this collected data to launch its advertising business, which the company had previously indicated it would avoid. The lawsuit also targets Netflix's children's profiles and their "addictive design features," such as autoplay. Florida claims that autoplay is designed to keep children watching for extended periods, and that this feature was not clearly communicated to consumers.

The case follows a similar lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of Texas against Netflix earlier this year. Both legal actions occur as politicians in both states appear to be capitalizing on anti-tech sentiment ahead of the November elections. Florida has also recently sued AI company OpenAI and TikTok.