Did Meta Sell Facebook Messenger Chats To Netflix? Social Media Giant Calls It 'Shockingly Untrue'

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has refuted allegations of sharing users’ private messages with Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). What Happened: The social media giant’s communication head, Andy Stone, took to X, formerly Twitter, to dismiss the claims. He clarified that the agreement between Meta and Netflix only allowed users to share what they were watching on Netflix with their Facebook friends, directly from the Netflix app. "Meta didn't share people's private messages with Netflix. The agreement allowed people to message their friends on Facebook about what they were watching on Netflix, directly from the Netflix app," Stone said, adding that these agreements are "commonplace" in the tech industry. He called the allegations "shockingly untrue." Shockingly untrue. Meta didn't share people's private messages with Netflix. 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. https://t.co/qjeC0iF9Kv— Andy Stone (@andymstone) April 2, 2024 Stone's response comes after allegations of a "special relationship" between Meta and Netflix, whereby Meta granted access to all the private messages on Facebook to Netflix, in exchange for the streaming service's advertisements on Facebook. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. This was revealed in freshly unsealed documents wherein a law firm, Klein And Grabert, alleged that Netflix and Meta shared user data for nearly a decade. See Also: Elon Musk Says All Nations ‘Above A Certain Per Capita Income’ Are Committing ‘Demographic Suicide’ The driving force behind this, according to the lawsuit, was advertising revenues. Why It Matters: This denial comes in the wake of a lawsuit alleging that Meta, under its former name Facebook, entered into a data-sharing agreement with Netflix that allowed the streaming service access to users’ private messages. Earlier in March, Meta’s efforts to postpone the FTC’s re-evaluation of alleged privacy violations within its Facebook division were rejected by the court. The company has also been accused of snooping on user traffic data from other platforms to gain a competitive edge. Price Action: Meta's stock closed 1.23% higher on Tuesday at $497.37, according to Benzinga Pro. Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Jeff Bezos Convinced His Siblings To Invest $10K Each In His Online Startup Called Amazon — Here’s How Much Their Investment Is Worth Now Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo by Timothy Hales Bennett on Unsplash