Meta Negates Claims of Netflix Accessing Users’ Private Messages
Meta is the parent company of Facebook. It has once again created controversy in the midst of privacy. The tech giant is facing accusations that it allowed Netflix to access users’ private Facebook messages. Netflix is a popular streaming service. Meta has fervently refuted these claims. This is the second time the company has had to counter such charges.
The debate was ignited by a document that came to light during a data privacy lawsuit between a group of consumers and Meta. The document proposed that Netflix and Facebook had a “special relationship.” Facebook was supposedly supporting Netflix for its Facebook Watch video service. More disturbingly, it claimed that Netflix had access to Meta’s “Inbox API,” which would have allowed the streaming service to access Facebook users’ private message inboxes.
Meta’s Communications Director, Andy Stone, was fast to refute these claims. He stated that the agreement with Netflix only allowed users to message their friends about what they were watching on Netflix. Those messages are sent directly from the Netflix app. He stressed that such agreements are usual in the industry and are intended to improve user experience.
Meta claims that while Netflix did have systematic access to users’ inboxes, it did not use this access to read private messages. The company upholds that it has always prioritized user privacy and data security and also that it would never allow third-party companies to access private user data without explicit consent.
This incident has once again brought the issue of data privacy to the front. As tech companies continue to participate more deeply in our lives, the question of who has access to our data and how it is used remains a persistent concern.
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