German voice actors have launched a boycott against Netflix over a contract clause which they believe allows the streamer to use their work for AI training.
Netflix has two ways to drop foreign-language content in a new territory – through subtitles and via dubbed versions.
The latter means actors local to that region are often used for those voiceovers jobs, but the industry is becoming increasingly concerned about artificial intelligence putting those artists out of a job.
A group of actors in Germany are now taking action on that front, which has resulted in a war of words between their union and the streamer.
Why German voice actors are boycotting Netflix
The Union in question is Verband Deutscher Spreche (translated as Association of German Speakers), who spotted a new contract clause at the start of the year that appears to allow Netflix to use their voices for AI training without remuneration.
According to Reuters, on February 3, 2026, VDS staged the boycott, and in response, Netflix sent a letter claiming those fears stemmed from a “misunderstanding” of how the the platform intends to use their recordings.
VDS chairperson Anna-Sophia Lumpe said that Netflix invited the body to an informal discussion, while “they also end the letter with the promise that if people continue to boycott working for them, that content will be shown with German subtitles in Germany.”
The association commissioned a law firm to examine the contract in relation to data privacy, copyright law, and the EU AI Act.
Then on February 9, the VDS published the result of that commission via an opinion from Spirit Legal, advising actors against signing the contract due to what Anime Corner summarizes as “a lack of clear use of AI training data, undermining copyright law; infeasibility of proper opt-outs, violating GDPR; and non-standard business practices that may conflict with existing law.”
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