Roku Device Sales Blocked in Mexico on Piracy Concerns

Roku Inc. set-top boxes were pulled from the shelves of major department-store chains in Mexico after a court blocked sales of the devices, saying they could be hacked to let users view pirated movies and TV shows.

Salespeople at department stores Liverpool and Palacio de Hierro told newspaper Reforma they were ordered to stop selling Roku boxes due to “legal issues,” the paper reported Tuesday. Hackers in Mexico offer services to alter the device, still sold through Amazon.com Inc.’s Mexican site for 899 pesos (about $50) for one model, so users can access programming that normally would require a paid subscription, like HBO or Hulu.