Roblox game titled 'Escape to Epstein Island' under fire in lawsuit filed by Louisiana Attorney General
Roblox, the popular online gaming platform, is facing a lawsuit in Louisiana for allegedly failing to protect child users and not having adequate safety features. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to stop Roblox from claiming it has adequate safety measures and prohibiting it from engaging in practices that would violate the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The lawsuit accuses Roblox of not adequately warning parents and young users about the platform's risks. In a blog post, Roblox highlighted its efforts to protect children on its platform, including 40 new features rolled out over the past year. However, the lawsuit takes issue with a game on the platform called "Escape to Epstein Island" that was labeled as appropriate for all ages.
Attorney General Liz Murrill of Louisiana filed the lawsuit against Roblox, alleging the online gaming platform fails to protect child users. The lawsuit points to a group of 3,334 Roblox users openly trading child sexual abuse material and soliciting sexual acts from minors. The lawsuit also claims that Roblox intentionally and/or knowingly designed the platform without requiring age-appropriate designations on experiences to increase revenue.
The lawsuit specifically accuses Roblox of deliberately failing to implement safety controls to protect minors from predators. It alleges that Roblox facilitates the distribution of child sexual abuse material and that the platform's default safety settings fail to block predatory contact for children under 13. The lawsuit also criticizes the open chat system on Roblox, which facilitates predator-child communication.
Roblox has surged in popularity in recent years, becoming one of the most widely used gaming sites for children and teens. According to the company, 34% of its users are 13 or younger. However, not all games on Roblox are kid-friendly. Experiences like "Diddy Party," and "Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe" have appeared on the platform, featuring sexually explicit content. One example cited in the lawsuit is an experience called "Escape to Epstein Island," which directly referenced the American financier who was charged with sex trafficking minors.
In response, Roblox states it has introduced stricter rules on sexual content, improved automated detection systems for inappropriate content, and deployed better age estimation techniques to combat false age declarations. The company also emphasizes its existing safeguards, like restrictions on sharing personal information, user-to-user image sharing, and attempting to block bad actors who try to circumvent these protections by moving interactions off-platform.
Roblox denies intentionally putting users at risk, asserting a strong commitment to child safety despite acknowledging that no system is perfect. The company maintains that some risks remain due to determined bad actors working to evade detection.
California Representative Ro Khanna launched a petition calling on Roblox to do more to protect users this week. The petition has gained support from various child safety advocates, urging Roblox to take immediate action to ensure the safety of its young users.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
[1] https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/roblox-faces-lawsuit-over-child-safety-concerns/
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2022/03/10/roblox-faces-lawsuit-over-child-safety-concerns-as-attorney-general-files-suit-in-louisiana/?sh=70c38a551e58
[3] https://www.reuters.com/technology/roblox-faces-lawsuit-over-child-safety-concerns-2022-03-10/
[4] https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/10/22956344/roblox-child-safety-lawsuit-louisiana-attorney-general-liz-murrill
[5] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-10/roblox-faces-lawsuit-alleging-it-failed-to-protect-child-users
- The Louisiana lawsuit against Roblox, a popular tech platform, calls out the company for inadequate safety measures concerning child users, accusing it of facilitating the distribution of child sexual abuse material and failing to implement necessary safety controls.
- In addition to the Louisiana lawsuit, California Representative Ro Khanna has launched a petition, urging Roblox to take immediate action toward enhancing user safety, especially for younger users who make up a significant portion of its tech-savvy demographic.
- The lawsuit further criticizes Roblox for general-news and crime-and-justice issues, like the rampant trading of child sexual abuse material and soliciting sexual acts from minors on its platform, all while intentionally and/or knowingly avoiding age-appropriate designations on experiences to boost revenue.
