Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Netflix on Wednesday, accusing the streaming giant of tracking detailed viewing data from children and families while falsely promising an ad-free service that would not collect or sell user information.

The 66-page complaint, filed in St. Johns County, alleges Netflix spent years marketing itself as a paid alternative to data-hungry tech platforms. It then collected billions of behavioral data points, including on children's profiles, before launching its ad-supported tier in November 2022 and commercializing that data.

Uthmeier stated that Netflix told Florida families they could pay a monthly fee to escape Big Tech surveillance, but instead collected detailed data on children and families, designed its product to keep kids watching, and then commercialized that information to launch the advertising business it promised never to build. The suit claims Netflix violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida Digital Bill of Rights by selling sensitive personal data collected from known children without prior consent.

The complaint highlights Netflix's Kids profiles, which the company markets as a child's own space for ages 12 and under with assurances that it does not engage in behavioral advertising on those profiles. Florida officials argue this is only a half-truth because the company still collects and analyzes children's viewing behavior through the same systems used for adult accounts, including what content they watch, pause, rewind, search, skip, or abandon.

After launching ads, Netflix reportedly opened Floridians' data to commercial data brokers and advertising platforms, allowing targeting by life stage, income, and household composition. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction, an order requiring Netflix to purge deceptively collected data from Floridians, an end to features that keep children watching, civil penalties, and other relief.

Netflix responded that it takes members' privacy seriously, complies with privacy and data-protection laws everywhere it operates, and has dedicated safeguards in place for kids. The company called the lawsuit meritless and said it intends to defend the matter vigorously in court.

This action continues Florida's aggressive stance against large technology companies under Uthmeier, who has also targeted other tech firms in recent months over consumer protection and children's safety issues.