• by Wendy Davis , Yesterday

Attorneys for young children are fighting Roku's bid to send their class-action privacy claims to arbitration, arguing that the minors never accepted terms of service requiring arbitration of disputes.

"Roku cannot satisfy its threshold burden to compel arbitration because it has no evidence that these minor plaintiffs ever agreed to arbitrate," class counsel writes in papers filed last week with U.S. District Court Judge Jesus Bernal in the Central District of California.

The argument comes in a lawsuit brought in August by parents who allege that Roku wrongly collected children's data -- including their voice recordings, location data, IP addresses, and browsing histories.

Roku also faces a similar children's privacy lawsuit in federal court in the Northern District of California.

The company has asked judges to send both cases to arbitration, arguing that in February 2024 it updated its "dispute resolution terms" and required users to affirmatively consent to arbitrate disputes.

Roku specifically argued that children who use parents' devices are bound by their parents' acceptance of terms of service.

"When parents agree to arbitrate disputes related to products and services they bring into their home and for their children’s benefit, claims brought by their children arising from those products and services must be resolved through arbitration as the parents agreed," Roku contended in its court filings.

Counsel for the children counters that even if a parent agreed to arbitration, that agreement wouldn't apply to non-signatories -- such as children in the home.

Both suits against Roku were filed soon after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged the company with violating the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by allegedly collecting data from children younger than 13, and the Video Privacy Protection Act by allegedly sharing all users' personally identifiable video-viewing history with other tech companies -- including Google and Meta -- via tracking technology.

Nessel alleged that Roku gathers personal data from children who watch programs on Roku Channel's “Kids and Family” section, which offers content like “Ryan's World,” featuring influencer Ryan Kaji removing toys from their boxes.

She added that the company “knowingly discloses personally identifiable information that identifies Roku customers as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from Roku."

Roku previously said it “strongly disagrees" with Nessel's allegations and plans to challenge them.

The company also said it does not “use or disclose children’s personal information for targeted advertising or any other purpose prohibited by law," and doesn't partner with "third-party web trackers or data brokers to sell children’s personal information.”

The children's lawsuits, brought on their behalf by parents and guardians, include similar allegations to Nessel's complaint, but the legal claims don't entirely overlap with that case. For instance, the complaint in the Central District of California claims Roku violates federal and state wiretap laws, while the one in the Northern District includes claims that Roku violates a right to privacy enshrined in California's constitution.