Texas Sues Roblox For Allegedly Failing To Protect Children On Its Platform (theverge.com)
- Reference: 0179999196
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/11/07/232253/texas-sues-roblox-for-allegedly-failing-to-protect-children-on-its-platform
- Source link: https://www.theverge.com/news/816549/texas-roblox-lawsuit-child-safety
> The lawsuit's examples focus on instances of children who have been abused by predators they met via Roblox, and the activities of groups like [4]764 which have used online platforms to identify and blackmail victims into sexually explicit acts or self harm. According to the suit, Roblox's parental controls push only began after a number of lawsuits, and a report released last fall by the short seller Hindenburg that said its "in-game research revealed an X-rated pedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech."
Eric Porterfield, Senior Director of Policy Communications at Roblox, said in a statement: "We are disappointed that, rather than working collaboratively with Roblox on this industry-wide challenge and seeking real solutions, the AG has chosen to file a lawsuit based on misrepresentations and sensationalized claims." He added, "We have introduced over 145 safety measures on the platform this year alone."
[1] https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26220082-texas-roblox-lawsuit/
[2] https://www.theverge.com/news/816549/texas-roblox-lawsuit-child-safety
[3] https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/1986529630124126245
[4] https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250306
How Legit? (Score:2)
I've seen some rather amusing vids about this problem, but how much does it really happen?
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYaryoizjbw#t=170
Re:How Legit? (Score:4, Informative)
> but how much does it really happen?
A lot. Like, [1]a LOT a lot [wikipedia.org].
Maybe you would like some other videos if that's your preferred media?
[2]Roblox Situation is Worse Than You Think [youtube.com]
[3]Roblox: How to Destroy Your $83,000,000,000 Company Overnight - A Deep Dive [youtube.com]
[4]Roblox, Take a Seat (ft: Chris Hansen) [youtube.com]
Roblox has had problems with child exploitation too, for years now; [5]Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers [youtube.com] and their follow-up, [6]Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. [youtube.com]
=Smidge=
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_safety_on_Roblox
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaEzsPt-1KQ
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50P-uAVAtFY
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIcVPPOB8TQ
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMF6xEiAaY
Re: (Score:2)
It's apparently quite frequent, as recounted in this article at least.
[1]https://www.theguardian.com/ga... [theguardian.com]
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/nov/05/roblox-game-robux-children-child-kids-safety-parental-controls
Texas? (Score:1)
Imagine if every state in the union sued a corporation.
I am not familiar with US law but should there not exist a federal bureau of investigation (or FBI for short) for such cases?
Satanic Panic all over again + Fake Culture War BS (Score:4, Informative)
Unless they have evidence they're not presenting, this is some bullshit culture war fodder. Tariffs are tanking the economy?...oh nooz...please don't pay attention to the failing economy, your lower standard of living or inflation...your local Republican Party may not be delivering jack shit on the economy or your pocket book, but hey...they're fighting those Groomers in San Mateo!!!!
I'm on Roblox nearly daily with my kids...never seen shenanigans. Some obviously happen at some time, but they do have pretty good AI filters and it's very easy to report people. I'm honestly not sure what else they can do. They're way ahead of Twitter or Facebook....but hey, that's the fault of Roblox founder David Baszucki for not donating to Trump's Inauguration, right?
The complaint I hear about is usually over-moderation. Kids are dicks and many have reported my kids for non-issues. My son got banned from his favorite game when he was 10yo for standing in the same spot for too long...annoyed another kid of a similar age, the dumb kid reported him, and my son was crying for weeks while we appealed the ban. My kids have friends who had their accounts suspended for routine cursing. My kids have been kicked out by AI moderators for saying bad words while their mic was on. With AI watching you, it's not easy to be a predator on such platforms, I would imagine.
Re: (Score:1)
32 families have lawsuits against Roblox over failing to protect children from predators. So clearly they are misrepresenting their platform if they market it as "kid-friendly" or safe (which I don't think they even do anymore). My take is that lawsuits like this to keep them honest are probably a good thing.
Routine cash grab + warning to SV donors (Score:2)
> 32 families have lawsuits against Roblox over failing to protect children from predators. So clearly they are misrepresenting their platform if they market it as "kid-friendly" or safe (which I don't think they even do anymore). My take is that lawsuits like this to keep them honest are probably a good thing.
If you have people, you will eventually have crime...so yeah, if there are literally billions of accounts on Roblox, crime will happen, but they're doing a better job at protecting kids than your local school, playground, or grocery store. They have more mechanisms than online games have had in the past. It is pretty kid friendly and it's very clearly a gaming platform, as they say it is. It's not a dating platform and adult content is not allowed...even racy stuff probably exists, but I have never seen
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think this is culture war, I think it's legitimately about protecting kids.
The comparison to Facebook and Twitter is not great because those platforms aren't for kids (but I'm all for lawsuits against them as well).
And as for 32 lawsuits being cash grabs or not enough: ok if you say so, I'm not going to worry about your kids if you're not.
Re: (Score:2)
Absolutely deluded to believe Paxton and other Republicans give a shit about protecting kids.
Re: (Score:2)
there are 5 billion Roblox accounts created
5 billion more accounts than you have brain cells, apparently
Re: (Score:2)
Honestly the issue with the story is Ken Paxton, he literally has negative credibility. I know virtually nothing about Roblox or this case, but if Paxton is the first AG to pursue it my automatic assumption is he's prosecuting them because they either failed to give him a bribe or he thought they were helping Democrats register to vote or something.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
It really does sound like the Satanic Panic. I've never been an online gamer, but our niece and nephew always loved Roblox when they were little. They played with their dad, and he never reported any issues, unlike a number of other games they played when they were older.
These are the same people fighting relentlessly (Score:2)
To take food out of the mouths of hungry kids. They couldn't possibly give less of a fuck about children. I mean except for like they did in the Epstein files but I don't think that's what anyone means here...
The only question is which ulterior motive is the most prevalent. On the one hand this is red meat for voters so that they can offer them something other than a functioning economy. On the other hand they are trying to eliminate anonymity on the internet so they can relentlessly punish anyone who s
Re: (Score:2)
Don't be a dumbass. Multiple YouTube influencers, including former victims of predation on Roblox, have been lobbying for actions like this for years:
[1]https://www.pcmag.com/news/rob... [pcmag.com]
But hey keep towing the corporate line. Way to show your true colors.
[1] https://www.pcmag.com/news/robloxs-vigilante-crackdown-why-its-banning-predator-hunters
When are the schools going to get sued (Score:2, Offtopic)
For failing to protect children, I'm looking at you Uvalde school district and Uvalde police dept.
Re: (Score:1)
There's also the media, politicians and advocacy nonprofits being disinterested in addressing these crimes given the perpetrator's demographic group being more favored in the media. Not just in the US but in the industrialized countries, under reported and when convicted they get overly lenient sentences.
[1]https://journals.sagepub.com/d... [sagepub.com]
It’s a Slippery Slope”: Antecedents of Female-Perpetrated Sexual Abuse of Adolescents in Australian Educational Settings
Amanda L. Robertson and Danielle A. Harr
[1] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10790632241290507
Re: (Score:2)
Shot kids all go to heaven.