Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against Roblox on 7 March, arguing that the gaming platform, marketed as safe for children, has become a place where sexual predators can interact with minors. Murrill said her office has documented a pattern of predatory activity linked to Roblox. Investigators arrested a man in Hammond who used the platform to target a child. A separate case was reported in Lafourche Parish last month. "Every week we are arresting sexual predators who are finding children on that platform and then striking up conversations with them, grooming them, sexually exploiting them and harming them", said Murrill.
Roblox's lawyer, Ed Burbach, challenged the state's claims and noted that the petition contained few specific allegations regarding Louisiana. They argued that they are not responsible for content generated by their users. "Roblox spends a lot of time ensuring it has a safe platform; we'll have to see what the judge bases his decision on regarding the allegations here in Louisiana. As you heard there weren't many allegations regarding the state of Louisiana, so we're waiting to see if they'll be dismissed to make way for other claims," said Burbach.
It remains to be seen whether this lawsuit will bring about any changes to Roblox or whether the company continues to believe that current measures are sufficient.
Do you think Roblox is safe?