Facing mounting pressure from lawmakers and a newly filed lawsuit by the state of Louisiana, Roblox recently issued a lengthy statement addressing what it calls “erroneous claims and misconceptions.” But reports suggest the Louisiana lawsuit is just the tip of what will eventually be a very large legal iceberg, as the platform faces rampant allegations that it has failed to protect the young people who make up the majority of its playerbase.
Roblox is a wildly popular game creation platform that hosts user-made games like Dress to Impress (which recently launched a collaboration with pop icon Lady Gaga), Grow a Garden, and Brookhaven. It sees tens of millions of daily active users (reported numbers vary between 82 and 111 million), and almost 40% of its playerbase is children under the age of 13. As such, it has faced intense scrutiny amid several reports (including a massive one published by Bloomberg last year) that allege the platform does not do enough to protect children.
On August 15, just days after California Congressman Ro Khanna said, “Roblox is simply not doing enough to protect our kids, to inform parents, and to go after child predators,” the state of Louisiana filed a lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit, which was brought in the 21st Judicial District of Louisiana, alleges that Roblox:
- Has and continues to facilitate the distribution of child sexual abuse material and the sexual exploitation of Louisiana’s children.
- Knowingly and intentionally fails to implement basic safety controls to protect child users from predators.
- Knowingly and intentionally fails to provide notice to parents and child users of its dangers.
In October of last year, Roblox introduced “parent accounts” to the platform, which allow parents to manage their child’s account, including blocking people on their friends list. However, a recent petition demanding Roblox do more, statements from politicians like Khanna, and the Louisiana lawsuit all suggest these steps are not enough.
An August 18 Wired report says a group of law firms across the United States plans to file “a flood of lawsuits” in the near future, “all for clients who accuse the platform of allegedly facilitating the sexual exploitation of and grooming of their kids.” One lawyer who spoke to Wired, Matt Dolman from Dolman Law Group, said his firm has “about 300 of these cases,” and expects there to be over 1,000 lawsuits filed “by this time next year.” Dolman said the majority of his Roblox clients are under the age of 16, and more than half are young girls.
There are already several lawsuits that have been filed against Roblox, including one in Alabama filed this past July after a 14-year-old girl allegedly met a predator on Roblox, began chatting with him on the messaging app Discord, and was reportedly abducted and assaulted. The lawsuit names both Roblox and Discord as defendants.
“Due to Roblox’s lack of safety protocols, it endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana. Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety. Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger posed to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their own home,” said Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill in a statement that accompanied the Louisiana lawsuit filing.
That same day, Roblox issued a lengthy statement on its website, which begins with the caveat that the company does not usually comment on pending litigation, but wanted to “address erroneous claims and misconceptions about our platform, our commitment to safety, and our overall safety track record.”
The statement cites Roblox’s safety tools, which the company says it is “constantly innovating,” its “industry-leading stance on age-based communication,” its “suite of easy-to-use parental controls,” and past collaborations with law enforcement, among other things, as examples of its dedication to child safety.
“We aim to create one of the safest online environments for users, a goal not only core to our founding values but contrary to certain assertions, one we believe is critical to our long-term vision and success. We understand there is always more work to be done, and we are committed to making Roblox a safe and positive environment for all users,” the statement reads.
Dolman told Wired there is “a working group” of lawyers from several law firms who have already spoken to several clients accusing Roblox of failing to protect their children.
GameSpot has reached out to Roblox for comment.
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