San Mateo-based Roblox facing more legal action and bans

The Louisiana attorney general filed a lawsuit against the company last week, citing its enablement of sexual exploitation, following New Jersey’s lead. The Florida attorney general has also issued a subpoena to Roblox, requesting internal documents related to child safety and content moderation practices.

Internationally, Qatar was the most recent country to ban the platform, following the lead of Turkey, China and Jordan. 

Roblox stock dropped by 7% in reaction to the mounting lawsuits and growing outcry. The backlash was further fueled when Roblox banned a user named Schlep, known as a vigilante user who attempts to catch predators and report them. 

Pat Huyett, attorney at Anapol Weiss, a law firm representing some of the alleged victims’ cases, has previously stated there are likely thousands of cases throughout the country claiming similar predatory behaviors that went unchecked by the platform. 

Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed in San Mateo County Superior Court, alleging that a 13-year-old user was coerced into sending sexual photos with a serial predator who had recently been charged with engaging in sexual interactions with another child, with law enforcement estimating that the perpetrator, Sebastian Romero, had exploited another 26 minors. In April, it was reported that a 10-year-old from Kern County was kidnapped by a 22-year-old man after meeting and communicating on both platforms.

“We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers our users, and safety is a top priority. We dedicate substantial resources, including advanced technology and 24/7 human moderation, to help detect and prevent inappropriate content and behavior, including attempts to direct users off platform, where safety standards and moderation may be less stringent than ours,” a Roblox spokesperson said via email, adding that the company has implemented rigorous safeguards, including restrictions on personal information sharing and image sharing, and partners with law enforcement and child safety organizations to combat the issue. 

Social platforms like Roblox and Discord — as well as other social media giants — have often been able to use Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally shields online platforms from content published by users, as long as they didn’t create or explicitly endorse it. But Huyett has said their perceived immunity is starting to crack, as more cases progress and state legislators and prosecutors demand stronger protections. Snapchat was also the target of the Florida attorney general over child safety concerns. And in California, an increasing number of claims have been filed against firms like Meta and Snapchat over their addictive nature, lack of parental controls and sexually exploitative platforms — though some claims were recently dismissed by a federal judge.