FACEBOOK's parent company Meta has allegedly given Netflix access to user's private messages in exchange for data, a bombshell lawsuit has claimed.
The trade has been occurring "for nearly a decade" as part of a "special relationship" between the Silicon Valley giants, newly unsealed court documents say.
The documents were filed as part of a major antitrust lawsuit against Meta, filed by two US citizens, Maximilian Klein and Sarah Grabert.
Klein and Grabert claim Facebook and Netflix shared "bespoke access" to user data, which the streaming company used to better tailor content for its own users.
It is no great mystery how this close partnership developed, and who was its steward: from 2011-2019, Netflix’s then-CEO Hastings sat on Facebook’s board and personally directed the companies’ relationship.
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The two companies also agreed to "custom partnerships and integrations that helped supercharge Facebook’s ad targeting and ranking models" from at least 2011, documents say.
It is suggested that this relationship blossomed as a result of the personal relationship between Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg.
“For nearly a decade, Netflix and Facebook enjoyed a special relationship,” said plaintiffs in filings made public in late March.
“It is no great mystery how this close partnership developed, and who was its steward: from 2011-2019, Netflix’s then-CEO Hastings sat on Facebook’s board and personally directed the companies’ relationship…”
The documents allege that "within a month" of Hastings stepping onto the Facebook board of directors, a so-called "Inbox API" agreement was signed.
This agreement "allowed Netflix programmatic access to Facebook’s user’s private message inboxes," per the filings.
Netflix would then allegedly send Facebook fortnightly reports on how its users interacted with the platform.
It follows a report by Gizmodo that Facebook killed its own Watch streaming service in an effort to sell Netflix adverts.
A Meta spokesperson has denied the allegations.
“Meta didn’t share people’s private messages with Netflix," they told The Sun.
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"As the document says, the agreement allowed people to message their friends on Facebook about what they were watching on Netflix, directly from the Netflix app.
"Such agreements are commonplace in the industry. We are confident the facts will show this complaint is meritless.”
The Sun has contacted Netflix for comment.