Breakdown
- In an antitrust lawsuit against the social media giant, a new letter reveals an alleged deal between Facebook and Netflix
- The deal consists of Facebook getting plenty of advertising money from the streaming service giant, in exchange for ads and access to user’s private messages
- This comes years after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as well as a tough 2023 for the company that saw the winding down of its expensive Metaverse mistake
Over the past few years, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta (previously known as Facebook Inc.) has been riddled with controversy regarding the protection of user's data. The Cambridge Analytica scandal was a major moment that caused many to be wary of Facebook's marketing tactics, leading even companies like Apple to warn potential users of the data their favourite apps collect.
It seems like the scandals are far from over though. During a recent antitrust lawsuit against Meta, a letter has revealed alleged details on Facebook and Netflix's partnership, as seen by Gizmodo, that reportedly let Netflix see user's private messages, and a host of other analytics, in exchange for deals that were in the hundreds of millions.
While Facebook Messenger has now enabled end-to-end encryption for all users as a default option, you'd previously be required to turn on encrypted chats. Unfortunately, most people likely didn't enable this, and if these statements are true, that's probably how Netflix got your requests to "Netflix and Chill".
This could be why your favourite Netflix shows got cancelled too. A running joke is that Netflix will cancel shows before they hit their peak, but it's potentially a lack of interest or criticisms found within Facebook messages that led to some business decisions.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit suggest that Zuckerberg cancelled the Facebook Watch service to keep Netflix happy, in order to keep advertising deals with the streaming giant. According to court filings, Zuckerberg personally emailed the head of Watch to say that the budget for the service was being slashed by $750 million, just two years after Watch was launched.
This lawsuit comes after a difficult 2023 for the company. While Meta Quest 3 sales were more impressive than many expected, the Metaverse investment was a huge money drain for the company. With another scandal potentially on its hands, it seems like Meta is going to need to do a lot to win public appeal in the foreseeable future.