Dutch Watchdog Slams €4.75m Fine On Netflix Over Data Breach

The Dutch authorities on Wednesday fined video streaming platform Netflix, 4.75 million euros ($4.98 million) for breaching subscribers’ data.

“Between 2018 and 2020, Netflix did not provide customers with enough information about what the company does with their personal data. And the information that Netflix did provide was unclear in some areas,” said the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) in a statement.

They noted that Netflix had since updated its privacy statement and improved its information to subscribers over the use of data.

According the the AP, the company has appealed the fine, “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,” said AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen.

“That must be crystal clear. Especially if the customer asks about this. And that was not in order.”

Dutch data protection watchdog said Netflix was unclear or provided insufficient information in several areas.

It said Netflix was not clear on why it was collecting personal data, which data is shared with other parties, how long the data is kept, and how the data is kept secure when transmitted outside Europe.