LANSING – Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit (PDF) against Roku, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleging that the television platform violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. The lawsuit accuses Roku of collecting, and allowing third parties to collect the personal information of children without the required notice or without obtaining parental consent.  

Nearly half of American households, including millions in Michigan, utilize the Roku television platform. The platform delivers streaming services, ad-supported programming, and live television to viewers of all ages, including children. Unlike its competitors, Roku does not offer parents the option to create children’s profiles, subjecting both parents and children to many of the same data collection practices.  

The lawsuit alleges that Roku systematically collects, processes, and discloses the personal information of children, including their locations, voice recordings, IP addresses, and persistent identifiers that track children’s browsing histories on Roku and across the internet. All of these are categories of personal information protected under COPPA. The Attorney General further alleges that Roku enables third-party channels to collect children’s personal information to attract content providers to its platform and increase advertising revenue. Roku also allegedly enhances its collection and monetization of children’s personal information through partnerships with third-party web trackers and data brokers, some of which have been sued by the Federal Trade Commission for tracking individuals’ locations. 

COPPA also places strict limits on the collection of children’s voice data, limits Roku allegedly disregards. The lawsuit also claims Roku actively misleads parents about its collection of their children’s personal information and their rights to protect that data. 

“Roku has blatantly violated children’s privacy laws, illegally exposing kids across Michigan to invasive data collection practices,” Nessel said. “We cannot allow companies to jeopardize the security of our children’s personal information. My office remains committed to holding accountable companies that violate the rights of Michigan families and seek to profit at the expense of children’s safety and privacy.” 

The Attorney General seeks to stop Roku’s alleged illegal data collection and disclosure practices, to require Roku to comply with federal and state law, and to recover damages, restitution, and civil penalties for Roku’s years of alleged misconduct.