Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued Netflix on Wednesday, accusing the streaming giant of misleading subscribers by promising an ad-free, privacy-focused service while secretly collecting years of behavioral data — including from children’s profiles — to build the advertising business it long insisted it would never create.

The 66-page lawsuit alleges Netflix built its brand by assuring consumers that paying a monthly subscription meant they could avoid the surveillance-driven advertising model used by other major technology companies. Instead, Florida alleges Netflix quietly collected extensive user data before launching its ad-supported platform in November 2022.

«Netflix told Florida families they could pay a monthly fee to escape Big Tech surveillance. That was false,» Uthmeier said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. «Netflix 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. Parents, not corporate executives, direct the upbringing of their children. Netflix should expect to be held accountable.»

The complaint points to repeated public statements from Netflix executives who touted the company as different from advertising-supported competitors. Among them, the lawsuit cites former CEO Reed Hastings, who said during a 2020 earnings call that Netflix was «not integrating everybody’s data,» adding, «We don’t collect anything,» and describing the streaming service as «the safe respite» from companies that exploit users through advertising.

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Florida alleges those assurances were misleading because Netflix built what the lawsuit describes as a massive behavioral-data operation that records how subscribers use the platform. According to the complaint, Netflix tracks billions of user interactions, including what subscribers watch, search for, pause, rewind, skip and abandon, along with information about their devices and locations. The state alleges Netflix uses that information to improve its recommendation systems and support its advertising business.

The lawsuit places particular emphasis on Netflix’s Kids Profiles, which the company markets as dedicated spaces designed for children. Florida alleges Netflix encouraged parents to create children’s profiles by describing them as «Great for kids» and a child’s «own space» while continuing to collect and analyze children’s viewing behavior through the same telemetry systems used for adult accounts.

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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a lawsuit accusing Netflix of misleading subscribers about its data collection practices and children’s privacy. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Florida also accuses Netflix of using so-called «dark patterns» to keep viewers engaged. The complaint alleges autoplay, which is enabled by default on Kids Profiles, is intentionally designed to extend viewing sessions, increase binge watching and generate additional behavioral data, particularly from children.

The state further alleges Netflix expanded into the advertising business it once rejected by allowing advertisers and advertising technology companies to use subscriber data for audience targeting and campaign measurement after launching its ad-supported tier in November 2022.

The lawsuit accuses Netflix of violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida Digital Bill of Rights. Among other claims, Florida alleges Netflix unlawfully shared sensitive personal data collected from children without obtaining the consent required under state law.

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In this photo illustration, the logos of media service providers, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu are displayed on the screen of an Apple MacBook Pro screen. (Chesnot)

Uthmeier is asking the court to permanently block the alleged practices, order Netflix to delete data the state says was deceptively collected from Floridians, stop using historical subscriber data to support its advertising business, purge behavioral data collected through Kids Profiles, prohibit the use of alleged dark-pattern designs and impose civil penalties authorized under Florida law.

Netflix did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Ukrainian drones struck deep into Russia’s Arctic north Wednesday, sparking a fire at an industrial facility in Novy Urengoy, a city in the heart of Russia’s most important natural-gas producing region, according to Russian officials and the Associated Press.

Regional Gov. Dmitry Artyukhov said Russian air defenses repelled the attack but falling drone debris caused a fire at an industrial site. He did not identify the facility, and the extent of the damage was still being assessed, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Ukrainian defense manufacturer Fire Point appeared to claim involvement, posting: «Guess who covered more than 3,300 km and successfully hit the target.»

The extraordinary strike comes as Washington makes a renewed push to end the more than four-year war even as Russia and Ukraine intensify long-range attacks on each other.

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Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he had just spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested both Moscow and Kyiv may be prepared to negotiate.

«We had a great conversation. He is wanting to make a deal. And if Zelenskyy is wanting to make a deal, that would be very nice,» Trump said.

Asked what was holding up an agreement, Trump pointed to the personal animosity between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling them «two people that hate each other.»

«These are two people that are tired of fighting,» Trump added.

Trump’s comments followed a weekend diplomatic push by U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who traveled to Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to revive negotiations. The talks produced no breakthrough, according to the Associated Press.

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Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attend talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia resumed major missile and drone attacks on Kyiv shortly after the American delegation left Ukraine, killing five people and wounding 35 on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

A European intelligence source told Fox News Digital that the simultaneous diplomacy and military escalation reflects a long-standing dilemma for Western governments trying to engage Moscow.

«You have to talk, you have to explain,» the source said, arguing that communication is necessary to prevent misunderstandings.

RUSSIA UNLEASHES NEARLY 600 MISSILES AND DRONES ON KYIV IN DEADLIEST STRIKE SINCE MAY

Smoke and flames rise over Moscow on June 18, 2026, following a Ukrainian drone attack that hit the Kapotnya oil refinery and other targets in the Russian capital. (East2West)

But the source said Russian officials can interpret Western outreach differently.

«Whenever you talk with them, they consider that this is a Western weakness,» the source said, adding that the assessment was based in part on informal contacts with Russian officials.

The source also said Putin’s recent emphasis on Russian «military progress in Ukraine» appeared aimed in part at Washington, projecting strength as U.S. officials seek to revive negotiations.

The escalation is taking an increasing toll on civilians. The United Nations said last month that Russian attacks killed or wounded more Ukrainian civilians in July than in any month since March 2022, with 437 killed and more than 2,600 wounded.

More than 16,800 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 51,000 wounded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilians and says its strikes are aimed at military and military-related facilities.

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A rescuer works at the site of a Russian drone strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, in a picture released on April 30. (Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Civil Administration Serhiy Lysak via Telegram/Handout via Reuters)

United24 described Wednesday’s attack as the deepest Ukrainian drone strike inside Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Novy Urengoy lies roughly 1,740 miles from Ukraine’s border. Artem Zhoga, Putin’s envoy to Russia’s Urals Federal District, said a Ukrainian drone had attempted to strike a fuel-and-energy facility in Yamal, according to Meduza.

The city sits in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the country’s dominant natural-gas producing region. About 80% of Russia’s natural gas is extracted there, according to Interfax data cited by the Associated Press.

Artyukhov said there were no reported casualties.

The attack was part of a broader Ukrainian drone assault on Russia. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces also struck targets around the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, including a naval base, an oil-loading terminal, military port facilities and warships capable of carrying cruise missiles, according to the Associated Press.

Russian authorities said four people, including a child, were killed and 29 wounded in the Novorossiysk attack.

Firefighters work at a site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released Sept. 9, 2026. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv/Handout via Reuters)

Russia, meanwhile, continued its own long-range campaign against Ukraine Wednesday. Russian drones struck the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, killing two civilians and wounding three, while another wave of attacks on Kyiv killed one person and wounded 14, according to Reuters.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.