State sues Roblox over alleged failed safety

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana sued the web gaming platform Roblox on Thursday, alleging the wildly popular web site has perpetuated an atmosphere the place sexual predators “thrive, unite, hunt and victimize kids.”

The lawsuit, filed in state court by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, alleges that Roblox has failed to implement effective safety measures to protect child users from adult predators.

“Due to Roblox’s lack of safety protocols, it endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana,” Murrill stated in a information launch. “Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety.”

The company has faced lawsuits and backlash for not doing enough to protect kids on its gaming services. Last month, a lawsuit was filed in Iowa after a 13-year-old girl was allegedly introduced to an adult predator on the platform, then kidnapped and trafficked across multiple states and raped.

In Louisiana, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said his office has had multiple cases involving Roblox. In one, police allege a man used voice-altering technology to pose as a girl on the platform. Ard said there have yet to be any arrests made related to the gaming site.

Ultimately, Murrill said she believes Roblox should be shut down.

An email seeking comment was sent to the company Thursday.

The free online gaming platform has more than 111 million monthly users. Its website describes Roblox as “the ultimate virtual universe that lets you create, share experiences with friends, and be anything you can imagine.”

Roblox doesn’t allow users to share videos or images in chats and tries to block any personal information, such as phone numbers. However, as with other gaming platforms and social media sites with similar policies, people find ways around such safeguards.

Roblox, which according to its website has “a zero-tolerance policy for the exploitation of minors,” doesn’t allow children under 13 to chat with other users outside of games unless they have explicit parental permission. Because the platform does not encrypt private chat conversations, the company can monitor and moderate them.

However, Murrill said there is no age minimum or substantial age verification process once a user signs up. As a result, young children, teens and adults posing as children can sign up, she said.

The company says on its website that age verification “is a brand new characteristic that’s at the moment in testing on Roblox.” Last month, it launched a characteristic that requires youngsters aged 13 to 17 to ship a video selfie to confirm their ages in the event that they wish to chat freely with individuals they know, referred to as “trusted connections.”

Amid mounting criticism in current months, the corporate has carried out additional measures that it says will hold their younger customers protected.

In August, Roblox informed AP that it was rolling out a man-made intelligence system to assist detect early indicators of doable baby endangerment, reminiscent of sexually exploitive language. Roblox stated the system led it to submit 1,200 experiences of potential makes an attempt at baby exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children within the first half of 2025.