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Texas has sued Netflix for allegedly spying on users and keeping them engaged with “addictive design”. The legal action accuses the streaming giant of representing to consumers that it did not collect or share user data while actually selling it to third parties. It also alleges that Netflix engages in “dark patterns”, such as autoplay, to get them addicted to the platform. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the lawsuit cited the recent California case, which found Meta and YouTube liable for designing addictive and harmful products. This verdict has opened the floodgates to thousands of similar cases, which now includes the Texas complaint. A Netflix spokesperson told Reuters that the lawsuit “lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information”.
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