Roku TV and streaming devices are being suspended, unwillingly for many users, as the company is said to be rolling out a new policy aimed at making it even more difficult to file various legal complaints against the company

According to news coming in via TechRadar, Roku is literally suspending the use of the devices until users accept the new terms of service This has led to intense criticism from many Roku users, which has even spread to Roku's community support page

The policy causing this discord is the new dispute resolution guidelines set by Roku on February 20, which require users to pursue legal complaints through arbitration But not only that, they must speak with a Roku attorney by phone or in person before taking their legal grievance to arbitration

Roku users first saw these Terms of Service appear on their devices on March 1 Not all users are affected by this suspension of user agreement service, but this could make it even more difficult for manufacturers to use TVs and streaming sticks without being forced to agree to something potentially unethical or unfair, thus sets a pretty poor standard for the future

Roku's community forums have shared images of the new dispute resolution terms that only allow users to agree to the new guidelines This means that users affected by this update will essentially be forced to agree to the new terms before they can access content on Roku TV or streaming sticks

The terms seem somewhat unfair to Roku customers, and many are now advised to stop purchasing Roku products and dispose of those already in their homes if they want to use the Roku Plus Series 4K QLED TV or Roku Streaming Stick 4K If they want to use the Roku Plus Series 4K QLED TV or Roku Streaming Stick 4K, they must accept, but if they do, they will not be able to participate in the class action lawsuit against the TV manufacturers

Tom's Guide has reached out to Roku for comment A spokesperson for the company said, "Like many companies, Roku updates its terms of service from time to time When we do, we take steps to inform our customers of the changes"

Roku also explained that these updates regarding dispute resolution policies are "in line with changes that many companies have made recently"

While some customers received the email, not all users received it

Some users claim that rebooting their Roku devices does not affect their interrupted usability Still, there are ways to avoid this setback and opt out of these new guidelines, according to Roku's own terms and conditions

Want to watch Hulu's new (and highly acclaimed) "Shogun" on your Roku device but don't want to accept the new terms of service? First, click on the prompts on the screen to proceed, then you will need to address the rest in writing as follows:

While it is good to know that there are (to some extent) workarounds to Roku's new policy, these complaints are not the only ones that customers have about data privacy and true ownership of their purchases They confront many of the issues that customers have immediately regarding data privacy and true ownership of what they have purchased

As technology continues to evolve, televisions eventually blossoming as smart home devices, and companies like Wal-Mart acquiring television manufacturers simply for data and advertising, ownership of these devices as well as our personal data is incredibly important and should be taken seriously

Therefore, if you are thinking of moving away from the Roku platform, it may be time to get the best Google TVs like the Sony A85L OLED TV or Hisense U8K Mini-LED TV