Texas Sues Netflix, TV Makers, and Temu Over How They Collect Your Data

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against Netflix, five major television manufacturers, and the shopping app Temu. The cases all focus on the same concern: these companies are collecting data from Texans without being clear about it or getting proper permission.

What Netflix Is Accused Of

Paxton's office says Netflix collects information about what you watch without telling you clearly enough. The lawsuit mentions both adults and children. The Texas Attorney General's office calls this practice "spying" on Texas residents through hidden data collection.

This is the first major state-level lawsuit against Netflix focused specifically on how the company handles your data.

Smart TV Manufacturers Under Fire

Five companies that make televisions face separate lawsuits: Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL. Paxton's office says these manufacturers secretly track what you watch on your TV and collect that information without your knowledge or real consent.

Two of the companies—Hisense and TCL—are based in China. The lawsuit calls special attention to the foreign ownership of these companies, which reflects growing concern in the U.S. about how Chinese technology companies handle personal data.

Modern smart TVs can collect detailed information about your viewing habits. They track not just what channel you watch, but things like when you pause a show, when you rewind, and how often you change channels. This is much more detailed than the basic information that old television measurement systems used to collect.

Temu's Problems Go Beyond Data

Paxton is also suing Temu, a popular shopping app. The case says Temu misleads customers in how it advertises itself and also secretly collects personal information. The lawsuit seeks significant penalties: up to $10,000 per violation. If the victims are seniors over 65, the penalties go up to $250,000 per violation because Texas law provides extra protection for older people.

Why This Is Happening Now

State attorneys general across the country are becoming more active in policing how technology companies collect and use data. Rather than waiting for the federal government to make privacy laws, state officials are using existing consumer protection laws to hold tech companies accountable. These lawsuits focus on whether companies have been honest about what they collect and whether they have genuinely asked permission.

The pattern looks familiar from history. In the early 2000s, state attorneys general were also the ones taking on tech companies over privacy practices, before the federal government got involved. State-level action often moves faster than waiting for new federal rules.

What Makes This Complicated

There is a meaningful difference between how much data a company genuinely needs to operate versus how much it simply wants to collect. Netflix's recommendation system—the one that suggests shows you might like—actually does need to know what you watch. That is built into how the service works. But smart TVs do not need to collect detailed viewing data just to display a picture on your screen. That crosses into territory that feels less necessary.

What Happens Next

The fact that Paxton's office filed all these lawsuits at around the same time suggests a coordinated strategy, not random cases. His office even called the Temu case the "fourth lawsuit against Chinese companies in three days," showing that targeting Chinese tech companies is part of a broader plan.

The money at stake could be substantial. While the Netflix and TV lawsuits have not announced specific damage amounts, millions of Texans use these services. Even if only a small percentage of violations are proven, the total costs could be large.

Companies that operate across many states face a real problem: what one state says is adequate disclosure may not meet another state's standards. This makes it hard to create one set of data practices that works everywhere. The outcome of these Texas cases could set examples that other states follow.

These lawsuits will require detailed legal discovery into exactly how each company collects data. That process may force companies to reveal technical details they usually keep private. The rulings could establish new standards for what counts as honest disclosure and real consent when it comes to data collection on streaming services and smart devices.