1504
Roku’s Ultimatum: Surrender Jury Trial Rights or Lose Access to Your TVs
(programming.dev)
Did your Roku TV decide to strong arm you into giving up your rights or lose your FULLY FUNCTIONING WORKING TV? Because mine did.
It doesn't matter if you only use it as a dumb panel for an Apple TV, Fire stick, or just to play your gaming console. You either agree or get bent.
I just got that on my Roku device and clicked through it without even realizing because it was the exact type of pop-up and position and timing as when it informs me that the micro SD card has successfully mounted, and it took my brain a second to register that 1) the pop-up was much larger, and 2) I briefly saw a word that looked like "arbitration"
How can this be a legally enforceable contract?! Especially considering if I didn't agree, my device that I've already paid for and have been using would cease functioning and they sure as hell aren't going to refund my purchase from years ago if I refuse
I'd like to think it can't be but it's the US so who knows.
Changing the terms after buying the device and in a way that your kid could accept them by hitting ok on the remote is bonkers.
Yeah, that's some dystopian neo-feudalist horseshit I'd only expect to fly in a bunch of the world's most corrupt shit holes, including the USA.
They have more money to spend on lawyers is how.
I hate that this is so true
This is called a Deceptive Pattern (or dark pattern). This feature worked exactly as intended in your case.
It doesn't matter if it is legal or enforceable. Who's going to stop them?
You could conceivably have a basis for a lawsuit against them if you do not agree to the binding arbitration for their disabling of the hardware that you had purchased from them.
However, do not forget that binding arbitration is still a legal process and does require them to treat it with the same gravity as a court trial would otherwise require, so even if you have agreed to The binding arbitration limitation, should something go awry you still have grounds and a space to take them to court, and in many cases, binding arbitration is much faster and more convenient for all parties than using the court system.