When are we gonna finally nail companies for using underhanded and coercive tactics with consumers?
Oh, never? Okay then.
Roku disables TVs and streaming devices until users consent to new terms
Submitted 8 months ago by ylai@lemmy.ml to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
gregorum@lemm.ee 8 months ago
When we make lobbying illegal in this country
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Europe is doing it. Look at Apple vs Spotify, as well as Apple forced to open their app stores to 3rd parties. Those are consumer oriented laws. In the USA, lobbying prevent those from happening.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
And until the EU starts playing hardball, they’ll continue to engage in malicious compliance. Time will tell if the EU actually has the balls for this.
slaacaa@lemmy.world 8 months ago
US: best we can do is a other corporate tax cut
Cort@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Tbf Biden is currently campaigning on raising corporate taxes and the top tax bracket. To actually get anything done though, Democrats would have to take back the house.
foggy@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Not a lawyer, but 99.9999% sure this violates the CFAA. Correct me if I’m wrong? Would t even matter if they included it in EULA or something, ‘no reasonable person…’
This has class action lawsuit written all over it.
just_another_person@lemmy.world 8 months ago
There will certainly be many lawsuits about it, no doubt. They e shot themselves in the foot for no reason here. What a dumb move.
dakial@lemmy.world 8 months ago
There should be a law that any change of T&C after the purchase of a product gives the customer the option to refuse the terms and get a full refund of that product, no matter how old it is.
Nommer@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
I have a smart light switch I can’t use anymore because they updated the app to force you to make an account to use it and I refused since it worked fine for the last 3 years without them needing to sell my data.
gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
If the firmware on the switch hasn’t been updated to not function with old versions of the app why not just snag an old APK and use the old app version?
At least as long as you own the thing, worth a shot
KeepFlying@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Especially for physical goods.
gregorum@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Well, my next tv won’t have a Roku in it.
starman2112@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Smart TVs are usually sold at a loss because they expect to make the money back through ads, so if you never connect one to the internet in the first place, you get a cheap decent TV and you cost these cockroaches money
bramblepatchmystery@slrpnk.net 8 months ago
I have heard that you can’t just choose to not connect it, you actually have to route it to a dead end like a pihole. Supposedly some of these smart TVs will make you think you were allowed to bypass completely but have just connected to the nearest unsecured network.
Not an issue for people who have no neighbors, but people who live in a suburb or city?
vividspecter@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Maybe just buy a monitor, particularly if you only need streaming.
Teon@kbin.social 8 months ago
I use my "smart" tv as a monitor to stream. It has never connected to the internet and it does not pester me.
gregorum@lemm.ee 8 months ago
This may be the best advice, esp since I only need small and dumb.
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 8 months ago
My setup is a Samsung that doesn’t have WiFi setup. It supports HDMI CEC, as does my game console and streaming box, so I basically never touch the TV remote. It’s effectively a dumb monitor.
I mostly stream via my Xbox and AppleTV since they’re performant systems.
Dnn@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It’s effectively a dumb monitor.
I may be old-fashioned but that’s the only thing a TV is supposed to be. You choose how to use it by its periphery.
kaitco@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Most LGs can be set up without internet at all.
Wrench@lemmy.world 8 months ago
My fucking Samsung Refrigerator refused to cool until I paired it to a mobile app. It wasn’t even one of those fancy tablet screen ones. It beeped at me for hours until I had the time to figure out wtf was wrong with it.
Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Scepter seems to be the well recommended budget option
gregorum@lemm.ee 8 months ago
How are they with longevity? Like, if they only last 2-3 years, is there a reliable date I can know they’ll die on? That’s good to know.
mr_robot2938@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Rtings is a good site for tv reviews across a wide range of price levels. I’ve used several their reviews to make purchases and have been satisfied thus far.
brbposting@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Wonder what their top dumb TV is besides their top budget models:
Hmm, even their monitor TVs seem to all be smart whether $300 or $1000.
slaacaa@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Any TV is dumb, if you don’t connect it to the net
TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Unfortunately I’ve seen a few recent TVs that constantly pester you to connect it to the internet. TV makers are trying to crush that.
Death_Equity@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Commercial display TVs. They are dumb TVs with modern displays.
taiyang@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I tried to find one without Smart TV features and they do exist, just not at the mid tier and above and not from any mainline brands. Good news is, at the low tier you might have some luck. I’m personally getting an LG, but I heard WebOS is easy to root so I won’t have those Roku problems.
Eezyville@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Shit happened to me yesterday. Pissed me off. Bought this TV years ago and suddenly I can’t use it until I accept their new arbitration shit. I’m building a stream box and disabling the internet on this thing. I’m sick of ads anyway.
MycelialMass@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Do it, its worth the effort
Scrollone@feddit.it 8 months ago
Build a Plex/Jellyfin server while you’re at it
Rentlar@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
I have no idea how US contract law works. Even if you agree to something that says “we can alter the deal at any time”, when a change happens to the deal, don’t both sides have to benefit, rather than “agree to this change so that you can keep the same thing you had before”?
wesley@yall.theatl.social 8 months ago
I honestly think a lot of these terms of service agreements are legally unenforceable, but they don’t get contested in court very often.
Like if they say “you consented to the arbitration agreement” I could just argue I never physically signed anything and it was actually my 5 year old who agreed so he could watch TV.
Cort@lemmy.world 8 months ago
But don’t you see, the consumer surely benefits. After agreeing they get to continue using their tv under our new and wonderful terms of service. /s
KumaLumaJuma@feddit.uk 8 months ago
Hadn’t actually thought about this but it’s a good point, they are varying the T&Cs with no consideration here.
Grass@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
When are the users taking them to court. These guys aren’t Nintendo so I expect them to have to fuck themselves.
SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I expect them to have to fuck themselves>
Damn I love that for some reason. Thanks for a giggle
Nima@leminal.space 8 months ago
if we could afford to sue them, we would.
dynamojoe@lemmy.world 8 months ago
My kid consented. I think. Can she make binding contracts that she doesn’t tell me about because she’s looking for Blues Clues, or am I responsible for every OK she checks when I’m not present?
nxdefiant@startrek.website 8 months ago
I let my cat step on the remote. Fucker doesn’t pull his weight, so if the lawyers come after him he’s on his own.
BaronOfHair@lemmy.world 8 months ago
If his name is Fritz, I suspect he’ll navigate any hassles skillfully
BaronOfHair@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Why not? The Vatican has believed that kids as young 6 are capable of consenting to sodomy since at least The 11th Century, and for the most part, the courts and cops have tacitly agreed with them. If anything, Roku is finally catching up with the rest of humanity
Dasus@lemmy.world 8 months ago
“Am I legally liable or is logic to be applied here”
Oh c’mon, apply some logic, you know logic won’t be applied, money will.
porksoda@lemmy.world 8 months ago
So legally speaking, what happens if it was my 8 year old son, who clicks buttons with no regard for human life, that agreed to this BS TOS? How is that legally binding?
roofuskit@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Yeah, this is really dumb. There’s no way they can prove the owner clicked on it and they can’t hold anyone else to the terms.
Cyclist@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It isn’t, an 8 year old can’t be held to a contract like this. IANAL.
SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Yeah our special needs child didn’t have much to say about the new terms. He probably didn’t read the whole thing though
JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 8 months ago
did you ASK him if he read the entire thing?
NO- you just assumed he didn’t. He’s probably up in his bedroom thinking about them terms right now
RIP_Cheems@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You know what. Pirate everything.
aDuckk@lemmy.world 8 months ago
RIP_Cheems@lemmy.world 8 months ago
With jod as my witness, I will download a tv.
rizoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
My in-laws have all Roku tvs. I had to go over and “fix” the TV’s for them cause they didn’t understand what the hell this was. I straight up just gave them my modded Nvidia shields and bought myself some more. Fuck that shit. We need a better open source tv like interface. I’ve used plasma big screen but it’s not ready for normal people with not Linux but fixing experience.
Dalraz@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
What does a moded Nvidia shield give you? Is it rooted or something else. I’m curious because I have been looking at them as a replace for Chromecast android tv
rizoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
Maybe modded is the wrong word. They’re rooted with a different launcher and my pihole does it’s best to block telemetry. Getting rid of the Google launcher with ads on it is a major improvement.
GrayBackgroundMusic@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Enshittification continues. I used to evangelize roku bc I want a dumb TV. I guess that’s no longer valid.
Teknikal@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Between this and Amazon’s recent nonsense with Firetv I think next time I’ll just buy a generic Android box or something, maybe even a mini PC.
PlatDrone@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Glad I never connected mine to the internet, I find the interface too laggy and clunky to use the built in streaming apps anyway. It shall remain offline until it dies which is hopefully a long way off.
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 8 months ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Roku users around the country turned on their TVs this week to find an unpleasant surprise: The company required them to consent to new dispute resolution terms in order to access their device.
The terms, of course, include a forced arbitration agreement that prevents the user from suing or taking part in lawsuits against Roku.
This requires anyone with legal complaints to take them to Roku lawyers first, who will conduct a “Meet-and-Confer” call and then “make a fair, fact-based offer of resolution” that will no doubt be generous and thoughtful.
I try to opt out of these when I can, and after reading the terms (to which, of course, by “continuing to use” my TV, I had already agreed), I found that you could only do so by mailing a written notice to their lawyers — something I fully intended to do today.
Though in retrospect, I — and literally every single user of your company’s services — would have preferred a straightforward electronic opt-out instead of this dishonest ploy to increase friction and further coerce adoption of these terms.
Don’t delay; otherwise, when people sue them over how they held devices hostage in order to coerce them into consumer-hostile dispute resolution terms, you won’t be able to join in on the fun.
The original article contains 849 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 75%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
shadowspirit@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Is there a FOSS option to turn something like a pi zero into streaming device? My assumption is a flavor of Android is required?
Kolanaki@yiffit.net 8 months ago
Outrage over ticking a checkbox?
virtueisdead@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
i literally only use my roku tv to open hdmi1 which has a fire stick on it
Suavevillain@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Well that is terrible.
Harbinger01173430@lemmy.world 8 months ago
laughs in Google Chromecast
TheRaven@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
The devices those users paid for? That should be illegal.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
I’m pretty sure this won’t fly in court because this is a significant change to a product long after the product was purchased, which could potentially fly in the face of false advertising laws, since this “feature” was not advertised, and they’re not being denied access to a product they purchased. It’s clearly coercive.
However, this is the USA and stupider shit has happened.
ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Please do NOT change this. It is both accurate and delightful.
-chef’s kiss-
dan1101@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Also how would they prove the owner even saw the notice they supposedly agreed to? This is probably them testing the waters for something worse.
stoly@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The point is that few have the money to prove this.