Florida Sues Netflix Over Data Use After Shift to Ads

advertising consumer protection netflix privacy streaming Sep 10, 2026

What happens to subscriber data when a subscription company changes how it makes money?

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is suing Netflix over that transition. The state alleges Netflix spent years collecting information while operating a paid, ad-free streaming business, then used that data to support the advertising operation it launched in 2022. Netflix says the lawsuit lacks merit. Florida’s complaint makes that shift in business model central to its case.

Uthmeier filed the lawsuit September 9 in Florida state court. The complaint alleges violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida Digital Bill of Rights. It also raises separate allegations involving children’s profiles and product features Florida says are designed to keep people watching.

The case reaches back to how Netflix described its business before it sold advertising.

For years, company leaders publicly contrasted Netflix with advertising-supported businesses. Netflix said its subscription model meant it did not need to depend on advertising or combine large amounts of outside data about users. In 2020, co-founder Reed Hastings described Netflix as a “complete, isolated data island,” focused on members’ viewing preferences.

Netflix did collect subscriber information as part of running and personalizing the service, including viewing activity and preferences.

Then the business changed. On November 3, 2022, Netflix launched a lower-priced ad-supported plan in the United States and other markets.

Florida’s case focuses on what happened to subscriber information as Netflix built that new business. The state alleges Netflix used information collected under its earlier model in its advertising operation without the consent and disclosures Florida says were required. The complaint also alleges Netflix later opened data to advertising and data partners for activities including matching, measurement and targeting.

The Florida Digital Bill of Rights took effect July 1, 2024, nearly two years after Netflix introduced advertising. Under the law, personal data collected from a known child is considered sensitive data. For children under 13, Florida law points to the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, for the required authorization standard.

This is a Florida enforcement case. COPPA comes into the picture because Florida’s privacy law refers to the federal standard when children under 13 are involved.

The complaint includes five counts. Four fall under Florida’s deceptive-practices law and cover the alleged commercialization of user data, statements about kids profiles, advertising and tracking practices, and dark patterns. The fifth alleges violations of the Florida Digital Bill of Rights involving the sale of sensitive personal data.

Netflix says it complies with privacy and data-protection laws and has dedicated safeguards for children. Its current policies say ads aren’t shown on Kids profiles and that Netflix doesn’t use behavioral advertising on those profiles.

Florida argues that those statements can still leave parents without a clear picture of what behavioral information Netflix collects and analyzes from children’s profiles. Those allegations have not been proven.

Florida is asking the court to require Netflix to purge certain data, restrict the use of historical subscriber data in its advertising systems and stop what the state describes as dark-pattern designs. The state is also seeking civil penalties, including penalties of up to $50,000 per violation of the Florida Digital Bill of Rights and higher penalties for violations involving known children.

Florida is the second state to sue Netflix over related data allegations this year. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a similar case in May involving adult subscribers and children’s profiles.

Insider Take

What happens to the promises made to subscribers before a subscription business changes?

Florida is looking back at two periods in Netflix’s history: the years when the company built its business around paid, ad-free streaming and what happened after it moved into advertising.

The state argues that earlier statements about data use still matter as Netflix’s business model changed. Netflix disputes that and says the case lacks merit.

Subscription relationships can last for years, while the businesses behind them keep changing. Pricing changes. Products change. New revenue models arrive. The question raised by this case is whether earlier representations about subscriber data follow the company as those changes happen.

Netflix will fight that question in court. It’s a question other subscription businesses may face as advertising and other revenue models become part of long-standing subscriber relationships.

Related Member Resources

For more on documenting the subscriber experience, privacy and children’s data:

Subscriber Journey Mapping & Audit Guide (Includes Worksheet): Find Friction, Document the Experience and Reduce Risk
A practical guide and worksheet for documenting what subscribers actually see and experience, creating a point-in-time record teams can return to when offers, policies, communications or other parts of the subscriber experience change.
FTC Consumer Privacy, Data Use, and Data Security Enforcement Brief
Explains how privacy claims and data-use practices can create enforcement risk, including the kinds of business practices and representations that have drawn FTC scrutiny.
Federal Children’s Privacy and COPPA Brief
Explains when COPPA applies, what information is covered and the federal requirements businesses need to understand when collecting or using information connected to children.

Florida Sues Netflix Over Data Use After Shift to Ads

What happens to subscriber data when a subscription company changes how it makes money?

Insider Take

Sources

Reported by: