EXPLAINED | Roblox child abuse allegations: Why is Louisiana AG suing the platform?
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on Friday that she had filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation, accusing the gaming platform of facilitating child sexual exploitation.
This is the latest in a long line of allegations against the interactive online gaming platform, which has long marketed itself as creative and child-friendly.
"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," Murrill said, calling the site a "breeding ground for sex predators" in an X post.
"No system is perfect and bad actors adapt to evade detection," Roblox has said in response, claiming that it was continuously enhancing its moderation approaches to combat the issue.
Roblox's crackdown on "vigilantes"—players who impersonate children to lure out child predators—has also worsened the case. However, the platform defended itself by simply saying that these vigilantes' actions bypassed its moderation systems, and arguing that reporting around the issue was to be refined.
A tainted past
The issue began as far back as October 2022, when a San Francisco lawsuit claimed that Roblox facilitated the sexual and financial exploitation of a California girl by adult men, who allegedly encouraged her to drink, abuse prescription drugs, and share sexually explicit photos, a Reuters report said.
Earlier this year, a California lawsuit alleged a predator groomed a 10-year-old girl he met on Roblox, and then further groomed her on Discord. He even abducted her at one point, as per the lawsuit filed by Anapol Weiss—the 7th such lawsuit related to systemic negligence towards child exploitation cases.
Beyond state action, federal claims continue to mount, including which the company now faces hundreds of lawsuits, as per a People report.
The Louisiana suit has also requested a jury trial, alleging that the company’s conduct amounts to deceptive trade practices and negligence under state law, accusing Roblox of having “created an abusive and unsafe environment for children".
Sci/Tech