Reports have emerged alleging that the streaming giant, Netflix, paid the social media powerhouse, Facebook, an astounding $100 million in exchange for unparalleled access to the private chat data of all its users. This significant revelation stems from a document shared by an X user named Deedy, which was subsequently reported by Watcher Guru. The document indicates a reciprocal arrangement where Facebook provided access to users' private messages, while Netflix reciprocated by sharing its users' watch history. The alleged payment from Netflix to Facebook exceeded $100 million.

This reported data exchange highlights a long-standing and close relationship between the two tech companies. According to the report, as early as 2011, Netflix announced a Facebook integration aimed at facilitating international user data sharing. Following this, Netflix actively lobbied the United States Congress to permit such data sharing within the US borders.

The document further claims that by 2013, Netflix had started entering into a series of agreements referred to as 'Facebook Extended API' agreements. A particularly notable one was the 'Inbox API agreement,' which purportedly granted the streaming company programmatic access to the private message inboxes of Facebook users. In return for this access, Netflix was required to provide Facebook with a written report every two weeks. These reports detailed daily counts of recommendation sends and recipient clicks, categorized by interface, initiation surface, and/or implementation variant, distinguishing between Facebook and non-Facebook recommendation recipients.

In August 2013, Facebook reportedly provided Netflix with access to its highly restricted 'Titan API.' This private API allowed 'whitelisted' partners, including Netflix, to access a range of information, such as Facebook user's 'messaging app and non-app friends.' The documents emphasize that the close relationship between Facebook and Netflix endured 'for nearly a decade.'

The report sheds light on the origins and stewardship of this deep partnership, noting that from 2011 to 2019, Netflix's then-CEO, Reed Hastings, held a seat on Facebook's board of directors and personally oversaw the collaborative efforts. Furthermore, the report indicates a significant increase in Netflix's advertising expenditure on Facebook, with ad spending reaching approximately $150 million annually by early 2019.