A groundbreaking lawsuit has been filed against Roblox in North Carolina, accusing the gaming giant of enabling the sexual exploitation of a child.
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By Joseph Ochoa & Sydney Ross, WRAL multiplatform producers
The first lawsuit against the popular video game Roblox has been filed in North Carolina.
On Thursday, Dolman Law Group filed a complaint on behalf of a High Point mom and her daughter, both identified as Jane Doe, accusing the video game giant of creating a breeding ground for predators and enabling the sexual exploitation of a 10-year-old girl.
Roblox is one of the most popular video games in the world, with more than 85 million active daily users. According to company data, about 40% of their users were children under 12.
In the lawsuit, the mother said her daughter has been an avid Roblox player since she was 6 years old. Doe said she believed there were “proper safeguards” in place and said she allowed her young daughter to use the online gaming platform.
At 10, Doe said her daughter was unaware she was interacting with a predator who pretended to be a child her age. Doe said the predator “groomed” her daughter and “encouraged secretive behavior,” which included coercing the 10-year-old into sending sexually explicit pictures through text messaging in exchange for Robux, the virtual currency used to buy items in-game.
The lawsuit also claimed the corporation prioritized financial gain over child welfare.
“This case against Roblox is a terrifying reminder of the world we live in, where capitalist greed far outweighs humanity,” said Matthew Dolman, Principal of Dolman Law Group. “There have never been sufficient safety measures and protocols in place, and children are suffering unimaginably. With Robux, Roblox gives evil individuals another literal bargaining chip to play out their unthinkable fantasies with impressionable children.”
The lawsuit also claims the gaming app instills an “unfounded sense of safety” in guardians and parents. It also claims the design of the gaming platform makes it easy and accessible for child predators.
The Does are seeking monetary damages from Roblox for suffering “profound life-altering injuries” including several mental issues, self-harm, suicidal ideations, depression, and persistent anxiety. Doe also said her daughter goes to consistent therapy to cope with the trauma.
Lawsuits, YouTuber express safety concerns with Roblox
The lawsuit by the Does is one of many allegations made against the company.
Earlier in August, the company was sued by a former U.S. Marine, who claimed the company failed to implement safety features intended to prevent an adult predator from targeting and abusing him. A week before the Does’ lawsuit, Louisiana District Attorney Liz Murrill sued Roblox, making similar claims against the platform.
In April, a California man was arrested after authorities said he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a child he met through the popular video game.
The video game company was also accused by a law firm representing YouTuber Michael “Schlep” of banning Schlep from the platform and threatening to sue him over videos he made involving Roblox.
Schelp, who has more than 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube, is popular for making videos of people accused of grooming children through Roblox and Discord. Stinar Gould Greieco & Henlsey, the law firm representing Schlep, said the YouTuber’s work led to the arrest of six alleged child predators operating on the gaming platform.
Roblox defended the Schlep’s removal, claiming that vigilante groups normalized inappropriate conduct the video game by posing as minors and moving users off site to engage in sexually-explicit behavior.
Dolman Law Group conducted an internal investigation and found many Roblox “experiences” mirror pop culture references with games titled “Diddy Party,” “Survive Diddy,” “JeffEpsteinSupporter,” and “Escape to Epstein Island.”
In response to the lawsuits, Roblox said it rolled out an open-source version of an artificial intelligence system, which it says would help preemtively detect predatory language in game chats.
WRAL News has reached out to Roblox regarding the lawsuit and is waiting to hear back.
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