Roku Lawsuit: Children’s Privacy Claims, Arbitration and a State Case
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The Roku lawsuit in the news is about children’s data: parents allege Roku collected kids’ voice recordings, locations and viewing activity without parental consent. Two federal judges sent those class actions to individual arbitration in 2026. Michigan’s attorney general is still pursuing a COPPA case. As of October 2026 there is no settlement, no fund and no claim form.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Lawsuits Say Roku Did
The Roku privacy lawsuit claims all share one theory. According to the complaints, Roku lets its own and third-party trackers collect data from children who watch kids’ content on Roku devices and Roku TVs, and uses it for ad targeting. The data named includes voice recordings, location, IP addresses, persistent identifiers and browsing or viewing histories. The suits stress that Roku, unlike some competitors, offers no separate children’s profile.
The federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) bars collecting personal data from children younger than 13 without parental consent. COPPA itself gives families no private right to sue, so the parents’ suits plead wiretap and privacy statutes instead. Roku denies the allegations. It has said it does not “use or disclose children’s personal information for targeted advertising or any other purpose prohibited by law.”
Case Details
E.A.R.R. et al. v. Roku, Inc., No. 5:25-cv-02474, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Riverside), before Judge Jesus Bernal. Filed August 4, 2025, under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Roku moved to compel arbitration, and the court ruled on that motion on February 6, 2026. A later decision cites the E.A.R.R. ruling as holding that children can be bound by an arbitration agreement their parents accepted.
A.A. et al. v. Roku, Inc., No. 25-cv-06284-NW, Northern District of California (San Jose), before Judge Noël Wise. Six children brought 14 claims, including under the Video Privacy Protection Act. On May 14, 2026 the court compelled all six to arbitration and stayed the case.
Michigan v. Roku, Eastern District of Michigan, filed by Attorney General Dana Nessel on April 29, 2025. On March 31, 2026 Chief Judge Stephen J. Murphy III dismissed five of seven claims for lack of standing, including the video-privacy counts (without prejudice). He let the COPPA claims proceed.
Else v. Roku, Inc., No. 8:26-cv-00748, Central District of California, filed March 27, 2026 against Roku and TCL North America. This is a separate Roku class action about TVs. It alleges defective software updates left Roku TVs black, flickering or unusable. Roku calls the claims meritless.
Status: Arbitration for Families, State Case Continues
The two children’s class actions are effectively out of court as class cases. Both judges held that the arbitration clause in Roku’s terms binds the children through their parents’ accounts. Roku says users had to accept that clause in February 2024. A family can still bring its claim, but only one family at a time, before an arbitrator. That is not a group case, and no one is automatically included.
The Michigan attorney general’s case is the one still moving in court. The court let the COPPA claims proceed. A state enforcement action seeks penalties and changes to Roku’s practices. It is not a class action that pays consumers. The software-update suit is at an early stage.
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Who Is Affected
Children’s privacy claims: the suits target households where a child under 13 watched content on a Roku device or Roku TV. Because the courts sent these claims to arbitration, there is no class to join. Any claim would be the family’s own arbitration under Roku’s terms.
Michigan case: brought by the state on behalf of Michigan children. Residents do not sign up or file anything.
Roku TV owners: the Else complaint covers Roku Select and Roku Plus Series TVs and TCL 3/4/5/6 Series Roku TVs that allegedly malfunctioned after updates. No class has been certified.
Is There Any Money?
On the Roku data breach: in 2024 Roku said attackers used credential stuffing (passwords reused from other sites) to get into around 15,000 accounts, then about 576,000 more. Roku said fewer than 400 of those accounts saw unauthorized purchases, which it said it would refund. It said no full card numbers were exposed. We found no court record of a class action over that breach, and there is no breach settlement. For how breach settlements generally pay, see our data breach settlement calculator.
Roku Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
April 2024 — Account Takeovers
Roku reports that about 576,000 accounts were accessed with reused passwords, after an earlier wave of around 15,000. It turns on two-factor authentication for all accounts.
- 2
April 29, 2025 — Michigan Sues
Attorney General Dana Nessel files a COPPA and consumer-protection suit in the Eastern District of Michigan.
- 3
Summer 2025 — Parents File Class Actions
E.A.R.R. is filed in Riverside on August 4, 2025, and A.A. is filed in the Northern District of California. Roku moves to compel arbitration in both.
- 4
February 6, 2026 — E.A.R.R. Arbitration Ruling
Judge Bernal rules on Roku’s motion. A later decision cites the ruling as holding that children are bound by their parents’ arbitration agreement.
- 5
March 31, 2026 — Michigan Case Narrowed
Chief Judge Murphy dismisses five of seven claims for lack of standing and lets the COPPA claims proceed.
- 6
May 14, 2026 — A.A. Sent to Arbitration
Judge Wise compels all six children to arbitration and stays the case. As of October 2026, no settlement exists in any Roku case.
Three Things to Watch For
Headlines about children’s data and a breach that ran through reused passwords make Roku an easy name for impostors:
“Claim your Roku settlement” messages
There is no Roku settlement and no claim form, as of October 2026. A page asking for your child’s name, birth date or your Roku login to “secure a payment” is collecting data, not filing a claim.
Fake Roku “account locked” emails
After the 2024 account takeovers, emails about a suspended or compromised Roku account are common phishing bait. Sign in by typing the Roku address yourself, never through a link, and Roku never charges an activation fee.
“Join the Roku class action” sign-ups
The children’s claims were sent to individual arbitration, so there is no class to join. Anyone selling a spot in a group case is misdescribing it. Read any retainer before signing.
Roku Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
What is the Roku lawsuit about?
Mainly children’s privacy. Parents and the Michigan attorney general allege Roku collects data from kids under 13 without parental consent: voice recordings, location, IP addresses and viewing activity. Roku denies it. A separate suit filed March 27, 2026 claims software updates broke some Roku TVs.
Is there a Roku settlement or claim form?
No. As of October 2026 no Roku case has settled. There is no fund, no administrator, no claim form and no deadline.
Why were the children’s class actions sent to arbitration?
Roku’s terms include an arbitration clause and a class action waiver, which Roku says users had to accept in February 2024. Judge Bernal (February 6, 2026) and Judge Wise (May 14, 2026) held that children can be bound by the terms their parents accepted. Claims now go case by case to an arbitrator.
Can I still bring a claim for my child?
Under those rulings, a claim would go to individual arbitration under Roku’s terms, not to a class action. Whether it is worth pursuing is a question for a licensed attorney.
What is happening in Michigan’s case against Roku?
On March 31, 2026 the court dismissed five of seven claims, including the video-privacy counts, without prejudice and for lack of standing. The COPPA claims continue. The state seeks penalties, damages, restitution and changes to Roku’s practices. It is not a consumer class action.
Was there a Roku data breach lawsuit?
In 2024 Roku disclosed credential-stuffing attacks affecting about 576,000 accounts plus an earlier wave of around 15,000. We found no court record of a class action over it and no settlement. If you were affected, Roku said it would refund unauthorized purchases.
Does the opt-out in Roku’s terms matter?
Per the A.A. decision, Roku’s terms give users 30 days after accepting them to opt out of arbitration by written notice. None of the families in that case did, so their claims went to arbitration.
What can parents do now?
Review your Roku privacy settings, voice settings and ad-personalization controls, and use a unique password with two-factor authentication. Keep any notices from Roku. If a real settlement ever happens, it will appear on our open settlements list.
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