Roku has been accused of invasively tracking kids’ personal data in a lawsuit that was filed yesterday in the US District Court of Eastern Michigan.

Attorney General Dana Nessel alleges in her complaint that the streaming platform is allowing third parties to collect this data—which includes geolocation, voice recordings and IP addresses—without obtaining parental consent, a practice that would be a violation of both the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.

Reaching more than 90 million households worldwide as of January 2025, Roku operates its own ad-based streaming service (The Roku Channel) and also offers various third-party channels.

Roku quickly issued a statement yesterday, saying that it intends to challenge “inaccurate claims” in the suit: “We do not use or disclose children’s personal information for targeted advertising or any other purpose prohibited by law, nor do we partner with third-party web trackers or data brokers to sell children’s personal information.”

A key factor in this case, the lawsuit argues, is Roku’s lack of children’s profiles (a feature that’s offered today across most major streamers)—which would seemingly subject all viewers to the same data collection practices regardless of their age. The platform doesn’t provide any parental controls beyond allowing users to set up a numerical Roku Channel Store PIN that’s required to add new channels.

“My office remains committed to holding accountable companies that violate the rights of Michigan families and seek to profit at the expense of children’s safety and privacy,” Nessel said.