Florida families woke up to news that their kids’ viewing habits have been tracked for profit.
Big Tech just got put on notice in a major way.
And Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier dropped a lawsuit on Roku that could cost the streaming giant millions.
Florida’s Office of Parental Rights targets streaming giant over children’s data
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a civil enforcement action against Roku and its Florida subsidiary late Monday, accusing the streaming giant of secretly harvesting sensitive data from children and selling it to advertisers.¹
The lawsuit alleges that Roku collected viewing habits, voice recordings, and precise location data from kids without telling parents or getting their permission.²
Roku operates in 145 million American homes and markets itself as a platform that gives users control over their privacy.³ But according to Uthmeier’s office, the company’s privacy tools don’t work anywhere near as advertised.⁴
"Florida families deserve to know what is happening with their children’s personal information," Uthmeier stated.⁵
"Parents—not technology companies—direct the upbringing of their children. We will hold any company that conceals or exploits that information accountable."⁶
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/1978088766620266885
Florida’s lawsuit accuses Roku of violating the state’s Digital Bill of Rights and consumer protection laws by collecting, selling, and tracking children’s viewing habits, voice recordings, and location data.⁷
We’re not talking about some no-name app here.
Roku sits in 145 million American homes.⁸
The whole business runs on harvesting data about what people watch, then selling that information to advertisers.
Now Florida’s saying the company crossed the line when it started doing this to kids.
Florida’s lawsuit now exposes what happens when that data collection targets kids.
Attorney General makes parental rights enforcement a signature issue
Uthmeier announced the enforcement action in a video posted to his X account, where he framed the issue around parental authority versus corporate power.⁹
"This is wrong, and it violates Florida’s commitment to parental rights," Uthmeier explained in the video.¹⁰
"At the end of the day, we believe that it is parents, not big tech companies, that should decide the upbringing of their kids."¹¹
The timing of this lawsuit tells you everything you need to know about where Florida’s priorities sit under Uthmeier’s leadership.
Since taking office in February 2025 as the state’s youngest Attorney General since Robert L. Shevin, he’s made protecting children online the centerpiece of his agenda.¹²
In August, Uthmeier filed complaints against multiple adult websites for violating Florida’s age verification law.¹³
He subpoenaed Roblox to uncover how the gaming platform markets to children and what policies exist to protect them from predators.¹⁴
He even investigated social media personalities Andrew and Tristan Tate, saying Florida would "pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable" for alleged exploitation.¹⁵
The Office of Parental Rights isn’t messing around with warning letters and gentle nudges.
Uthmeier’s going straight for civil penalties – $50,000 per violation.¹⁶ No warning letters. No settlement talks reported yet. Just a lawsuit.
Florida’s Digital Bill of Rights kicked in July 1, 2024.¹⁷
Companies have to get clear parental consent before selling kids’ data. And Florida defines "kids" as anyone under 18 – not the federal standard of 13 that most companies hide behind.¹⁸
More kids protected means more companies sweating right now.
Roku faces growing pressure from multiple states over children’s privacy
Michigan’s already going after Roku for the same thing.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit in July claiming Roku collected information from children and used it to attract advertisers.¹⁹
Roku fought back hard, filing a motion to dismiss most of Michigan’s claims and arguing the state doesn’t have standing to sue on behalf of residents.²⁰
The streaming company claimed Michigan’s non-COPPA claims "do not belong to the State" and that "the 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."²¹
Roku’s aggressive legal defense in Michigan signals the company plans to fight these cases tooth and nail rather than settle quietly.
But fighting Florida may prove tougher than fighting Michigan, given Florida’s specific Digital Bill of Rights legislation that became effective just months ago.
The state is asking the court to impose civil penalties and permanently stop Roku from using children’s data without consent.²²
That could force fundamental changes to how Roku’s platform operates – changes that would ripple across the company’s entire business model built on data monetization.
Tech companies everywhere are watching Florida’s move.
States went on a lawmaking spree in 2024 and 2025 – California, Connecticut, New York, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Louisiana, and a dozen more all passed new laws protecting kids online.²³
Now attorney generals are racing to see who can come down hardest on Big Tech’s data collection.
Nobody wants to be the state that let streaming companies spy on children.
The bigger battle
For decades, tech companies operated under the assumption that once someone clicked "agree" on a terms of service agreement, they had carte blanche to hoover up whatever data they wanted. That model worked great for building billion-dollar advertising businesses – not so great for protecting kids from having their every move tracked and sold.
States are now pushing back hard against that model. Florida’s law zeroes in on companies making more than half their money from online advertising.²⁴ That hits the giants who built empires selling user behavior data.
Roku pulled in $3.5 billion in platform revenue last year, with ads making up a big chunk of that.²⁵ Stop the kids’ data collection and you’re talking real money.
Roku hasn’t said anything publicly about Florida’s lawsuit yet. But look at how they’re fighting Michigan’s case – claiming constitutional overreach, First Amendment violations, states exceeding their authority.²⁶ Expect the same playbook here.
Florida’s got something going for it that other states don’t. The Digital Bill of Rights targets data privacy and parental consent – not what content platforms can show. Courts let states regulate commercial data practices far more than speech. That distinction matters.
The real question is whether Roku can afford to lose access to data from one of America’s largest states. You can’t ignore a state with 22 million people. Florida’s enforcement actions carry weight that Rhode Island or Vermont never could.
Florida wins this fight and forces Roku to get actual parental consent before monetizing kids’ data? Other states will line up with their own lawsuits. And Roku’s competitors – who all likely do the same thing – are going to start getting very nervous about when their turn comes.. And expect Roku’s competitors – all of whom likely engage in similar data collection practices – to start sweating about when the next lawsuit lands on their desks.
Uthmeier’s aggressive push to protect children online fits perfectly with the Trump administration’s broader focus on reining in Big Tech’s power. With President Trump back in the White House and Republicans controlling major state governments like Florida, tech companies face a coordinated assault on their business models from multiple directions.
The days of Silicon Valley operating as an unregulated Wild West may finally be coming to an end – at least when it comes to harvesting data from kids.
¹ Anita Padilla, "Florida sues Roku for selling children’s data without consent," Florida Voice News, October 14, 2025.
² – ⁶ Ibid.
⁷ WFLA, "Office of Parental Rights files enforcement action against Roku," October 14, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Florida Voice News, October 14, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² "James Uthmeier," Wikipedia, October 8, 2025.
¹³ WUSF, "Florida AG Uthmeier sues adult video sites for ignoring age verification law," August 6, 2025.
¹⁴ My Florida Legal, "Attorney General James Uthmeier Fights to Protect Children Online; Subpoenas Roblox for Child-Protection Policies and Procedures," accessed October 14, 2025.
¹⁵ Wikipedia, October 8, 2025.
¹⁶ Perkins Coie, "Florida Enacts ‘Digital Bill of Rights’ Combining Narrowly Applicable ‘Comprehensive’ Privacy Provisions and More Broadly Applicable Restrictions on Children’s Privacy and Social Media Restrictions," accessed October 14, 2025.
¹⁷ WP Legal Pages, "Florida Digital Bill of Rights (FDBR) — A Complete Guide for 2025," June 26, 2025.
¹⁸ Loeb & Loeb, "Children’s Online Privacy in 2025: State Legislative Action," May 1, 2025.
¹⁹ Legal Newsline, "Can Michigan’s AG step in for kids in court? Roku says no," July 17, 2025.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ Ibid.
²² Florida Voice News, October 14, 2025.
²³ Mayer Brown, "Children’s Online Privacy: Recent Actions by the States and the FTC," February 25, 2025.
²⁴ Termly, "Florida Digital Bill of Rights: First Look & Summary," February 14, 2025.
²⁵ Roku, "Full Year 2024 Key Results," Shareholder Letter, February 2025.
²⁶ Loeb & Loeb, May 1, 2025.
