Florida Joins Ranks of AGs Suing Roblox for Alleged Harms to Children
The Florida attorney general sued Roblox Thursday, joining other state AGs who contend the popular gaming platform is dangerous for children.
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Roblox has “made no effort to verify users’ age or obtain parental consent at signup,” which means “adults can pretend to be children” on the platform, Florida's lawsuit said. Moreover, the company continues to “falsely and deceptively represent its platform as safe,” it added.
Though Roblox recently announced safety measures (see 2510290020 and 2507180059), the Florida suit said they are “all superficial and serve only to highlight how unsafe Roblox has been and still is."
In the suit filed in state court, Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) alleged violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The suit follows Florida's investigation of Roblox and its child-safety procedures (see 2510200041 and 2504160045). After a review of the investigation's findings, Uthmeier labeled them “unacceptable” in an X video discussing the suit posted Dec. 11.
“While the criminal investigation continues, we're using all tools in the toolbox to hold this dangerous platform accountable,” he added. There have been “serious failures to protect our kids” as Roblox “aggressively markets to young children but fails to protect them from sexual predators.”
Louisiana (see 2508140051), Kentucky (see 2510070042) and Texas (see 2511060054) have also sued the platform for harms to children. Roblox has denied the allegations (see 2508150046 and 2510080005).
Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement emailed to Privacy Daily that the "lawsuit fundamentally misrepresents" how the platform works. Its platform has "safety at its core," including "advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications."
"Users cannot send or receive images via chat, eliminating one of the most prevalent opportunities for misuse seen elsewhere online," said Kaufman: Roblox is "rolling out additional measures to further limit who users can chat with, going beyond what is required by law and what other platforms do."
Roblox takes "swift action" against those who "violate our safety rules" and holds "bad actors accountable," said Kaufman, but "no system is perfect, which is why we continue to evolve and work to strengthen our protections every day."