Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against Roblox, the widely popular online gaming platform, citing failure to adequately protect children from sexual predators.
The lawsuit was filed in state court, accusing Roblox of creating an environment where predators can “hunt and victimize” children due to insufficient safety measures.
The big picture: Murrill alleges Roblox prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over the safety of children using the platform.
- Roblox currently boasts over 111 million monthly users worldwide and markets itself as a virtual universe where users can create and share experiences.
- Despite Roblox’s efforts, harmful content and adult predators have proliferated on the platform, according to the suit and law enforcement reports.
Driving the news: Recent high-profile cases have spotlighted these risks, including a lawsuit in Iowa stemming from a 13-year-old girl allegedly introduced to an adult predator on Roblox who then kidnapped and trafficked her across states.
- No arrests have yet been made in Louisiana directly linked to Roblox, but authorities are concerned about the growing number of cases.
Go deeper: Louisiana’s suit calls for Roblox to be shut down due to ongoing dangers it poses to children in the state.
- Roblox responded by declining to comment on pending litigation but emphasized its commitment to child safety through substantial investments in advanced technology and 24/7 human moderation.
- The company claims it deploys enforced safeguards such as restrictions on sharing personal information, blocking links, and preventing user-to-user image sharing.
- Roblox prohibits children under 13 from chatting outside of games unless explicit parental permission is granted, and it monitors private chats due to lack of encryption.
- However, the lawsuit argues that Roblox lacks a robust age verification system, allowing children, teenagers, and adults posing as kids to create accounts freely.
- Roblox states age verification is under testing, with recent introduction of a feature requiring teens aged 13 to 17 to verify their age by submitting a video selfie to chat freely with trusted connections.
