Louisiana sues Roblox for creating an environment where ‘child predators thrive’

The state of Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, alleging that the company has “permitted and perpetuated an online environment in which child predators thrive, directly contributing to the widespread victimization of minor children in Louisiana.” Roblox sees more than 111.8 million daily active users, and it’s hugely popular with children, with users under 13 comprising nearly 40 percent of players last quarter. However, the platform has come under significant scrutiny over reported failures to protect children on the platform, with Bloomberg publishing a major report last year about predators on Roblox and the investment firm Hindenburg Research alleging that its research revealed “an X-rated pedophile hellscape.” In recent months, Roblox has taken steps to bolster its child safety features, including introducing parent accounts that can manage their child’s account and the ability for parents to block people on their child’s friend list. But Louisiana alleges that Roblox’s “deliberate failure to implement effective safety measures to protect child users from well-documented predatory threats, along with its ongoing failure to warn parents and children of the foreseeable dangers posed by its platform, has directly facilitated the widespread sexual exploitation of minors and inflicted severe, lasting harm upon the children of Louisiana,” according to the complaint. “Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety,” Attorney General Liz Murrill says. “Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger poised to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their own home.” Roblox spokesperson Kadia Koroma sent the following statement about the lawsuit to The Verge: > The assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is categorically untrue. Every day, tens of millions of people around the world use Roblox to learn stem skills, play, and imagine and have a safe experience on our platform. We dedicate vast resources to supporting a safe infrastructure including advanced technology and 24/7 human moderation, to detect and prevent inappropriate content and behavior — not only because it’s important to us but because it is such a critical issue and so important to our community. We dispute these allegations and we remain committed to working with Attorney General Murrill to keep kids safe. > While no system is perfect, Roblox has implemented rigorous safeguards—such as restrictions on sharing personal information, links, and user-to-user image sharing—to help protect our community. Unfortunately, bad actors will try to circumvent our systems to try to direct users off the platform, where safety standards and moderation practices may differ. We continuously work to block those efforts and to enhance our moderation approaches to promote a safe and enjoyable environment for all users. The company also published an article responding to the lawsuit on its newsroom. Seven lawsuits regarding child predator issues have been filed against Roblox in a “little over two weeks,” Bloomberg reports. This week, Roblox published a post on its website about why it removes what it describes as “vigilantes” who try to catch bad actors on Roblox by using tactics “similar to actual predators.” One user, who goes by “Schlep” and says on his X profile that he has contributed to “6 Roblox arrests and counting,” posted screenshots on X last week of what he says was a cease-and-desist notice by Roblox. Update, August 15th: Added statement from Roblox.