Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday filed a lawsuit against Netflix, alleging that the streaming service was spying on kids by collecting user data without consent.

“Netflix has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent, and my office will do everything in our power to stop it,” Paxton said in a statement. “Netflix is not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be."

"Instead, it has misled consumers while exploiting their private data to make billions," he added. "I will continue to work to protect Texas families from deceptive practices by Big Tech companies and ensure that corporations are held accountable under Texas law.” 

The lawsuit alleges that Netflix built "surveillance machinery" to monitor the activities of kids accounts and collects behavioral data on the users, even though it does not directly engage in behavioral advertising to children.

"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 monetize the data for a handsome profit," the suit states.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.