Florida is suing Netflix, accusing the streaming giant of secretly tracking children's viewing habits, locations and search histories even as it marketed itself to families as a refuge from Big Tech surveillance. According to a court complaint filed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Netflix deceptively collected user data and targeted children in violation of state law.
As reported by FOX 35 Orlando, the lawsuit charges Netflix with violating both the Florida Digital Bill of Rights and the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. State prosecutors allege the company monitored devices, locations, search histories and viewing habits, and specifically tracked activity on profiles dedicated to children 12 and under. Uthmeier said Netflix told Florida families they could pay a monthly fee to escape Big Tech surveillance, only to allegedly turn around and collect detailed data on children and families.
What the Lawsuit Demands
Florida is asking the court for civil financial penalties against Netflix, along with a permanent injunction and an order requiring the company to delete data collected without prior consent. The state also wants Netflix to purge deceptively gathered user information and to end designs that keep children watching, according to the complaint. State prosecutors say Netflix recorded billions of user actions and sold user data to support its advertising business.
Uthmeier said the company should expect to be held accountable. Netflix executives have not publicly responded to the lawsuit filing, and it remains unknown whether they plan to seek a settlement, per the complaint reviewed by the station. The timing for when legal proceedings will officially begin in court has not yet been determined.
A Broken Promise, State Prosecutors Say
Central to Florida's case is what prosecutors describe as a broken promise. Netflix promised families an ad-free platform, and its chief executive previously claimed the company did not collect user data or exploit users with advertising, describing Netflix as a safe respite from surveillance-driven platforms, per prior public statements. That framing traces back to a 2019 statement by former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, in which he drew a contrast with ad-supported Big Tech competitors, according to CBS News.
Netflix opened up its collected user data to commercial brokers around November 2022, the same month it launched its advertising business, state prosecutors allege. The ad-supported tier has since grown rapidly: Netflix reported 94 million active global users on its $7.99 monthly ad plan by May 2025, up from 40 million a year earlier, per Media Play News. Industry research published by Digital i in January 2026 found that 40% of active Netflix accounts across 20 measured markets were on the ad tier by late 2025, up from 26% a year prior.
Florida's Digital Privacy Law Carries Steep Penalties
The lawsuit relies on the Florida Digital Bill of Rights, which took effect July 1, 2024, and applies only to large tech companies generating more than $1 billion in global annual gross revenue that meet specific advertising or data-processing criteria, according to PrivacyLawMap. Under the law, Florida can seek civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, tripled to $150,000 per violation when the conduct involves a minor under 18, per Gunster. In the law's first six months, the Florida Office of the Attorney General received nearly 800 consumer complaints, prompting dozens of state privacy investigations, the same source notes.
Uthmeier was appointed Florida's attorney general by Governor Ron DeSantis in February 2025 after serving as DeSantis's chief of staff, and he is running for a full term in the November 2026 general election, according to Ballotpedia. The Netflix suit follows other aggressive legal moves by his office, including a prior demand for New York Times records that Hoodline previously reported.
Florida Follows Texas Into Court
Florida's case closely mirrors a lawsuit Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed against Netflix in Collin County in May, alleging the company ran an illegal surveillance program that harvested and monetized viewing habits, including from children's profiles, as Hoodline reported in May. Both states are testing whether Netflix's past promises of ad-free, privacy-protective streaming amount to deceptive trade practices once measured against its current ad-tracking technology.
The Florida and Texas cases arrive amid a broader wave of state and federal scrutiny over how tech platforms handle children's data. The Federal Trade Commission updated its Children's Online Privacy Protection Act rule in January 2025, adding stricter limits on targeted advertising to minors under 13 and banning indefinite data retention, according to Akin Gump. That federal action came alongside a wider bipartisan push by state attorneys general against Big Tech platforms accused of targeting minors, including an $18 billion multi-state settlement finalized in late August with Meta, as reported by PBS NewsHour.
