'When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you': Netflix sued for spying on users

Texas in the US is suing Netflix, accusing it of spying on users and creating conditions where its app uses "dark patterns" to hook users and turn binge-watching into a habit. Netflix denies the allegations.

In Short

• Netflix has been sued by the State of Texas
• Texas accuses Netflix of spying on its users
• The lawsuit alleges Netflix watches you when you want Netflix

It is not only the social media companies like Meta and YouTube that are under the lens for creating addiction among their users. Now, Netflix too is facing similar allegations. The State of Texas in the US has filed a case against the popular streaming service, alleging that it spies on users, collects their data without consent and uses dark patterns in its apps to make the service more addictive to users, including children.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit against Netflix has been filed by the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The allegations against Netflix majorly centre around the data Netflix collects and then, consequently, the way it uses that.

"Netflix’s endgame is simple and lucrative: get children and families glued to the screen, harvest their data while they are stuck there, and then monetise the data for a handsome profit," notes the complaint. "When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you.”

The phrase Dark Pattern apparently makes an appearance in the complaint. This is a behaviour, part of the tech parlance, that describes the hidden patterns in apps and tech services, the patterns that are subtle and nearly-impossible to notice. But they help tech companies gain advantage, monetarily or otherwise, from their users. One simple example of Dark Pattern is a grocery app or website showing different prices to users of different kinds of phones. On many apps, iPhone users, who might be considered more affluent, tend to see higher prices compared to Android users.

It is not clear how the Texas attorney's office describes Dark Patterns in the case of Netflix, but chances are that it could be something to do with the recommendation engine that Netflix has built. When you watch a TV series and movies on Netflix, it quietly builds your profile and then, accordingly, nudges you towards the content that it believes you would like. No two users see the same Netflix home-screen because of this personalised recommendation system.

A Netflix spokesperson, speaking to Reuters, denied the claims made in the complaint. “This lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information," the spokesperson told Reuters. "Netflix takes our members’ privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data protection laws everywhere we operate."

Is Netflix really watching you when you watch it?

Yes, and no. The Texas lawsuit contains this one line — When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you. But unless there is proof of something happening with TV hardware, it is more a figure of speech instead of literal truth.

Netflix cannot watch users literally, not unless it somehow uses some sort of camera in your drawing room. But what the Texas complaint probably meant by this line is somewhat similar to what the Police meant when he sang “every move you make I will be watching you.” Effectively, Netflix most likely tracks the user behaviour when they are using the streaming app. It can track when you pause a movie, can track the segments you rewind, obviously can track what you watch and how quickly you finished that, as well as it can track for how long you use Netflix, on which days and at what time. And so on and so forth.

In other words, it does collect a lot of data, and by analysing that data it can create a fairly robust profile of a user. Is it doing all that, and is it using the user data in ways that are crossing the legal boundaries? We might get answers in the coming days and months as the lawsuit progresses in Texas.

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