Florida sues Netflix over alleged unauthorized collection of children's data

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit against Netflix in the 7th Judicial Circuit Court of St. Johns County, alleging the streaming service engaged in unauthorized data collection from minors. The 66-page complaint claims Netflix spent years building behavioral logging infrastructure while promising subscribers an ad-free experience, later using this data to support an advertising business launched in November 2022.

The state alleges that Netflix systematically recorded user activity—including what children watch, pause, rewind, or search—and shared this information with identity vendors, data brokers, and programmatic buying platforms without parental consent. The lawsuit cites violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) and the Florida Digital Bill of Rights (FDBR), the latter of which prohibits the sale of sensitive personal data without prior consent.

Netflix has stated that it takes privacy seriously, complies with applicable laws, and maintains that the lawsuit lacks merit. If successful, the state seeks a permanent injunction, the deletion of the allegedly obtained data, the cessation of features such as autoplay, and billions of dollars in damages, including penalties of $50,000 per violation.