Florida Attorney General Sues Netflix Over Children's Data and Addictive Features

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed suit against Netflix on September 9, 2026, alleging that the streaming company obtained data on its youngest viewers after promising parents it would not collect children's data, and added addictive features to its platform. Speaking at a news conference that day, Uthmeier said parents had been told children's profiles were a space of their own, safe, independent and suitable for children, while Netflix in practice built something different. He is seeking billions of dollars in damages and asking the court for a permanent injunction ordering Netflix to stop the alleged deceptive practices, purge data deceptively collected from Florida residents, and end addictive designs that keep children watching, among other civil and monetary relief.

The lawsuit claims that Netflix's ad-free service had promised not to collect or sell data, but that after launching its advertising business in 2022 the company began tracking children and their profiles. The state says Netflix offers profiles for children under 12 and markets them as an advertising-free space. Uthmeier accuses Netflix of violating Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the state's Digital Bill of Rights, including by selling sensitive personal data collected from known children without prior consent.

The complaint cites remarks by Netflix executive Reed Hastings on a January 22, 2020 earnings call. Hastings said at the time that the company did not collect anything, that its focus was keeping members satisfied, that it was not caught up in the controversy surrounding advertising, and that it had no intention of tracking customers' locations or other behavior, contrasting Netflix with the advertising models of Google, Facebook and Amazon, which use consumer data collection and targeted information. Uthmeier's complaint says those statements conveyed to customers that subscribing to Netflix meant escaping technological surveillance, but that the company accumulated years of behavioral data and used it when it launched its advertising business in November 2022. Hastings stepped down as Netflix's board chairman in June 2026.

The complaint also accuses Netflix of using "dark patterns" and other subtle designs to manipulate users into taking actions the company wants, with autoplay among them. Florida is the second state to sue the streaming giant. In May 2026, Texas filed a similar suit, alleging that Netflix collected user data without users' knowledge or consent in violation of relevant laws. The lawyers listed for Netflix did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.