Class Action Lawsuit Claims Roku Illegally Collects, Distributes Children’s Personal Data

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Roku knowingly allows third-party tracking tools on its platform to illegally collect sensitive personal information about child users, who make up a significant portion of the company’s user base.

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According to the 24-page lawsuit, Roku, a popular streaming service host platform, employs third-party data tracking tools, including some made custom for its software, in order to collect sensitive and personally identifiable information from users, including children.

The suit specifically names Google, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, CJ Affiliate, Innovid, New Relic and Display & Video 360 as the proprietors of the tracking software used by Roku, reportedly the top TV content platform nationwide.

The data that’s collected is primarily used in ad targeting, the suit says. However, the complaint states that not only is the collection of such information from children illegal under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), but that Roku is fully aware of its obligations under the law and continues to illicitly collect this data for the sake of its advertising profits.

The apparent reasons for Roku’s child-data collection are not due to a lack of child-directed content on its platform, the filing says, as Roku, among its content categories, called Roku Zones, includes Zones specifically for its selection of kids and family entertainment. As such, the lawsuit alleges that Roku’s collection and monetization of children’s data is fully informed and intentional.

Further, while many streaming providers that offer child-directed content allow users to create a child profile—which, among other functions, either disables data collection or requires parental consent to activate it—Roku has deliberately elected not to implement any such features on its platform, allowing it to indiscriminately employ data collection practices, even for child-directed or child-viewed content, for the purpose of ad targeting, the class action lawsuit alleges.

Cited in the lawsuit is Roku’s 2023 SEC Form 10-K, in which the company stated that “there is political or regulatory pressure in some countries to limit streaming TV advertising (including limiting the advertising that may be associated with children’s content) or impose local content requirements on streaming TV services, which could pose a threat to our services.” Per the suit, the document also includes an acknowledgement from Roku that the company “could be at risk for violation or alleged violation of… privacy, advertising, children’s online protection or similar laws.”

According to the case, Roku’s privacy policy discloses that it collects and distributes to third parties the following user information, including that of children:

• Voice data, including recordings, from its various voice command-enabled functions;
• Other audio and visual information from users, which, per Roku’s old privacy policy, explicitly included “consumers’ photos, videos and audio recordings” until December 2024;
• Commercial information, including purchases made, obtained or considered, records of personal property and other purchasing or consumption histories;
• Unique online identifiers, including, but not limited to, IP addresses, browser cookies and advertising and device identifiers;
• Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as search history, browsing history and consumers’ interactions with various websites, applications or advertisements;
• Users’ precise geolocations; and
• Account registration information, including names, email addresses, home addresses and phone numbers.

The complaint alleges that Roku is fully aware of and intentional in its collection, dissemination and monetization of children’s data from its platform and the illegality thereof under COPPA regulations.

The Roku class action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone who, before reaching the age of majority, requested child-directed content or used any voice function on any Roku-enabled device during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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