Over the last 48 hours, Roku has slowly been rolling out a mandatory update to its terms of service. In this terms it changes the dispute resolution terms but it is not clear exactly why. When the new terms and conditions message shows up on a Roku Player or TV, your only option is to accept them or turn off your Roku and stop using it.
Many Roku owners are upset about a clause about the arbitration rules but these terms for arbitration and class-action waiver are not new and Roku’s page explaining them has existed since 2019.
In an email to customers, Roku says:
We wanted to let you know that we have made changes to our Dispute Resolution Terms, which describe how you can resolve disputes with Roku. We encourage you to read the updated Dispute Resolution Terms. By continuing to use our products or services, you are agreeing to these updated terms.
Thank you for making Roku part of your entertainment experience.
The Roku Team
Roku does offer a way to opt out of these new arbitration rules if you write them a letter to an address listed in the terms of service. You do need to hurry though as you only get 30 days to write a letter to Roku to opt out. Though it is unclear if that is from when you buy your Roku or agree to these new terms.
Customers are understandably confused by these new terms of service that have appeared in recent days. Raising questions about why now and why such an aggressive messaging about them that forces you to manually accept them or stop using your device. Roku has slowly been rolling out these new terms of service, and if you have not received them yet you likely will in the days to come at least in the United States.
The new terms of service do come a few weeks after Roku sent developers a beta version of its new Roku OS 13. It is unknown if these are related.
Cord Cutters News has reached out to Roku and will update our story as we learn more.
Please follow us on Facebook and X for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord-cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.