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Suspicions that Facebook gave Netflix access to user messages resurface as new court documents are released
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, denies claims that Netflix accessed users’ private messages. The allegations surfaced in a court filing related to a class action lawsuit against Meta over its data privacy practices, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday, April 3.
The document alleges that there was a “special relationship” between Facebook and Netflix, allowing the latter to access the former’s “Inbox API.” In this scenario, the streaming giant would have been given full access to Facebook’s user message inboxes.
According to a report from TechCrunch, the claim surfaced after Company X owner Elon Musk said: answered Netflix reacted with “wow” and “yeah” to claims that it had access to Meta’s Inbox API, prompting angry responses about Facebook’s data privacy practices and the potential sale of user data.
Adding to the controversy, The Register said in a report that the partnership may have helped Meta maintain its dominance in social media advertising.
The deal includes Facebook abruptly discontinuing original programming on its content streaming product, Facebook Watch, in May 2018, effectively removing it from direct competition with Netflix. In exchange, Netflix has reportedly agreed to increase certain types of data sharing used in Facebook’s advertising model and ad purchases by Netflix.
However, Mehta denies the accuracy of the court filing. Andy Stone, Director of Metacommunications; Reposted The original X post on Tuesday countered that Netflix accessed users’ private messages.
Stone said the post’s claims were “shockingly false” and that the access only allowed users to message their Facebook friends about what they were watching on Netflix directly from the Netflix app. explained. Stone also said such agreements are “common in the industry.”
As noted by TechCrunch, Meta’s explanation suggests that Netflix may have programmatically accessed users’ message inboxes, but it is unlikely that the platform used that access to read private messages. I’m denying it. Programmatic advertising is a type of technology used for automated media buying for advertisers.
new york times It was previously reported in 2018 that Netflix and Spotify could read users’ private messages, and Meta issued a similar denial. – Report from Jessica Bonifacio/Rappler.com