Lawsuit: Popular video game ‘Roblox’ exposes children to sexual content and manipulation
The company behind Roblox, a video game extremely popular with children and young adolescents, is the subject of a class action lawsuit filed by concerned parents following allegations of sexual content and grooming on its gaming platform, raising serious concerns about the security of its young user base.
PC Gamer reports that Roblox, a global online platform known for its gaming experiences aimed at children, has recently come under scrutiny. The company now faces a class-action lawsuit in California brought by parents accusing Roblox of exposing their children to inappropriate sexual content and grooming. This lawsuit highlights growing concern among parents about the safety of online environments for children, particularly on platforms like Roblox, which have a significant youth audience.
The lawsuit alleges that The Roblox Corporation engaged in “intentional and negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, violations of the California Unfair Competition Act, the False Advertising Act, the Antitrust Act consumer protection laws and state consumer protection laws. These accusations stem from the platform’s alleged inability to effectively protect its predominantly young users, more than 60% of whom are under the age of 16, from harmful content and potential predators.
Parents have expressed deep concerns about the platform’s security measures, or lack thereof. Alexandra Walsh of Walsh Law, representing the parents, said: “There is a misperception that Roblox is safe – the brand has a bit of a halo because the company falsely presents itself that way to parents. » The lawsuit details disturbing incidents, including children encountering avatars engaged in explicit activities and being subjected to inappropriate messages and grooming tactics.
One case involved a seven-year-old child whose mother, identified as KM, spent approximately $4,000 on the game, only to later discover that her child was receiving abusive messages, including requests for virtual sex acts. Another plaintiff, Damien Uhl, shared a harrowing account of his 12-year-old daughter being groomed by an adult posing as a young girl on Roblox, leading to the exchange of inappropriate emails and photos.
Roblox Corporation responded to the allegations by stating: “We dispute the allegations and will respond in court. Roblox is committed to providing a positive and safe experience for people of all ages. We have an expert team of thousands dedicated to moderation and safety on Roblox 24/7, and we act quickly to block inappropriate content or behavior when it is detected. including sexual content that violates our community standards.
The company added: “We have a number of features specifically designed to keep children safe, including filtering text chat on the platform to block inappropriate content or personal information and offering controls parental controls and features to limit or disable chat. We have invested in creating tools to give parents visibility into their children’s activity, particularly to prevent them from making unauthorized purchases.
Breitbart News reported last month that a man was arrested after allegedly kidnapping a girl he was grooming while gambling Roblox.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
