Roku sued by Florida over alleged sale of children’s data

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit accusing smart TV firm Roku of selling children's personal information in violation of the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, as well as its Digital Bill of Rights, The Florida Phoenix reports.

Roku has not only collected and sold sensitive data, including online activity, viewing histories, location data, and voice recordings, without obtaining parental consent or providing clear notice to families, but also failed to implement age verification, while engaging with Kochava and other third-party data brokers, according to the complaint filed in Collier County Circuit Court.

The Attorney General's Office of Parental Rights is seeking civil penalties, injunctive relief, and stronger disclosure and parental-control mechanisms.

"Roku knows that some of its users are children but has consciously decided not to implement industry-standard user profiles to identify which of its users are children. Roku buries its head in the sand so that it can continue processing and selling childrens valuable personal and sensitive data," wrote Uthmeier.