Ky. AG Sues Roblox for Allegedly Exploiting Children
Kentucky filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Roblox for allegedly creating an environment where children are exploited, joining the ranks of several other states that are suing the gaming platform.
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The 68-page complaint from Attorney General Russell Coleman (R) alleges that Roblox fails "to implement basic safety controls to protect child users" and doesn't "inform Roblox users and their parents about the dangers inherent on the Roblox platform."
The platform could prevent harm to children "by requiring informed parental consent prior to allowing minor children to establish an account on Roblox," Coleman added. "Instead, Roblox continues -- as it has done for almost two decades -- to allow children to create accounts without any form of identity verification, nor with any indicia of parental consent."
The complaint also notes that Roblox has advertised "that it 'take[s] kids’ safety and privacy very seriously,'” and more recently said it has "kept children’s privacy and safety top-of-mind when designing our platform." Despite this, child predators and organizations use Roblox to harm and exploit children, Coleman said.
The Kentucky AG said Roblox violated the state's Consumer Protection Act -- specifically its unfair and deceptive acts and practices provision. The state also made claims about negligence and unjust enrichment.
"For years, Roblox has ignored this crisis so it could continue turning a profit," Coleman said in a press release.
In April, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) issued a subpoena to Roblox for information about how it markets to children (see 2504160045). In August, Louisiana sued the gaming platform for facilitating the distribution of child sexual abuse material and potential violations of federal child privacy statutes (see 2508140051), though Roblox denied the charges (see 2508150046).
Roblox couldn't be reached for comment by our deadline.