Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder8.news.weretis.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: super70s Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: Roku Will Brick Your Device Until You Give Up Your Rights Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2024 02:40:56 -0500 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 48 Message-ID: References: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="b94c9d6b5641ccd2f0b4850ace6e61e5"; logging-data="2291324"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19O/Ji/uWFrNBsLGf6edE8yofHsO6xAAEY=" User-Agent: Unison/2.2 Cancel-Lock: sha1:rxzAWxRT3DYcK9oc7cMpZLziJ1g= Bytes: 3270 On 2024-03-15 03:47:52 +0000, BTR1701 said: > Ever since AT&T's 2011 Supreme Court victory, the courts have declared it > perfectly legal for a corporation to erode your legal rights using fine > print. As a result, most every service and company in the U.S. now uses > contract fine print to try and prevent you from suing the company (either > alone or in a class action), instead forcing you toward binding > arbitration, a process that usually favors the company. > > Streaming hardware device maker Roku is no exception, having included such > language in its terms of service since 2019. But the company recently added > a new wrinkle to the annoying practice: they rolled out a new terms of > service that effectively blocks you from being able to use your Roku > streaming device or TV until you agree to the immolation of your own legal > rights. > > The company's terms of service feature a freshly-designed "Informal Dispute > Resolution" system, whereby anybody who has a complaint about Roku's > service is required to have a "meet-and-confer" call with Roku lawyers, who > claim they'll "make a fair, fact-based offer of resolution". If that > doesn't work, you're sent to binding arbitration. If you disagree, your > devices become paperweights. > > You can still opt out of the arbitration and dispute resolution rules and > use your device, but it requires sending a written letter (including a > bunch of personal and device information the company likely already has) to > a Roku lawyer who may or may not resolve your concerns on a timely basis: > > Stephen Kay, General Counsel, Roku, Inc. > 1701 Junction Court, Suite 100 > San Jose, CA 95112 > > Not too surprisingly, Roku is refusing to respond to press inquiries as to > why it thought being a restrictive and obnoxious jackass was a great > business decision. > > https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/roku-will-brick-your-streaming-devices-if-you-dont-agree-to-binding-arbitration/ > I logged on to Roku (something I don't do all that often) Thursday and was presented with some kind of dialog box that said their terms of service had been updated and I needed to click my consent. Okay, whatever. At least it wasn't another software upgrade that was going to take the usual 15 minutes.