New Delhi: Netflix was in the news a few months ago as it was being investigated by the Indian government for its business practices involving visa rule violations and racial discrimination.
Now, the popular global OTT streaming service is in trouble, this time in The Netherlands.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has imposed a 4.75 million euro (Rs 42.35 crore) fine on Netflix for failing to adequately inform its customers about how their personal data was used between 2018 and 2020.
An investigation, launched into the matter in 2019, revealed that the streaming giant did not meet the requirements of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The data protection authority in The Netherlands found that Netflix’s privacy policy lacked clarity, especially in explaining how it handled customer data.
According to DPA authorities, the streaming service did not provide enough information in its privacy statement regarding the use and collection of personal data. Also, when customers enquired about specifics of data collected by Netflix, they were not given sufficient details.
Such lack of transparency is a violation of the GDPR, which mandates that businesses must be clear about how personal information is handled and respond properly and satisfactorily when customers request data information.
The hefty fine is a result of Netflix’s failure to meet its obligations under EU privacy laws during 2018-2020 period.
“A company like that, with a turnover of billions and millions of customers worldwide, has to explain properly to its customers how it handles their personal data. That must be crystal clear. Especially if the customer asks about this. And that was not in order,” DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen told AFP.
Netflix has objected to DPA’s decision, stating that it had fully cooperated with the Dutch authorities throughout the investigation and made significant changes to improve its privacy policies. Netflix stressed that these changes were made proactively, long before the fine was issued.
“Since the investigation began over five years ago, we have worked closely with the Dutch Data Protection Authority and continuously evolved our privacy information to provide greater clarity for our members. We have objected to this decision,” a Netflix spokesperson told Reuters.
