Nessel
DETROIT - You can go ahead and throw out most of Michigan's lawsuit against us, Roku is telling a federal judge tasked with hearing Attorney General Dana Nessel's privacy case.
The streaming company on July 14 filed a motion to dismiss claims made by Nessel as she alleges Roku is collecting information from children and using it to attract advertisers.
And while Nessel's claim under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act will be dealt with later, Roku says there is no need to wait to throw out the rest of the lawsuit as non-COPPA claims "do not belong to the State."
"(T)he State does not claim that its video watch history was disclosed, it was misled, its affairs intruded upon, or there is unjust enrichment at its expense," the motion says.
Nessel is using an authority known as parens patriae to sue on behalf of the residents of her state, but that power is limited to claims for equitable relief, Roku says.
"It does not give the State plenary authority to usurp residents' damages claims," the motion says.
"The State's attempt to expand parens patriae is unprecedented and opens a Pandora's box of mass and representative adjudication without any safeguards, assurance of accuracy, or promise of due process."
Nessel filed suit in April, contending Roku gathers children's data including their locations, voice recordings, IP addresses and browsing history. Further allegations state Roku allows third-party channels to attract advertisers and content providers by collecting children's information, increasing advertising revenue.
The lawsuit also notes Roku's relationships with third-party web trackers and data brokers, some of which have previously faced legal actions by the Federal Trade Commission.
"Roku has blatantly violated children's privacy laws, illegally exposing kids across Michigan to invasive data collection practices," Nessel said. "We cannot allow companies to jeopardize the security of our children's personal information."
Nessel says the company is violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, the Video Privacy Protection Act and the Preservation of Personal Privacy Act. Roku wants claims brought under those three laws tossed at this early stage.
It says Nessel has usurped the damages claims of Michigan residents without any "quasi-sovereign interest." Citing decisions in Arizona, Ohio and federal appeals courts, it attacks Nessel's authority to do so.
"Roku is forced to defend against headless claims with no representative to attack, specific facts to contest, or claimants to cross-examine," the motion says.
