Philly Voice’s Michael Tanenbaum recently reported on the lawsuit filed against Roblox and Discord on behalf of a 13-year-old child who was sexually exploited while using the companies’ platforms. The article, entitled “Family from N.J. sues Roblox and Discord, claiming platforms are 'hunting ground' for child predators,” goes into detail about the lawsuit’s allegations that Roblox and Discord failed to provide the necessary protection against sexual exploitation by online predators.
Excerpts:
“The couple who filed the lawsuit is represented by Philadelphia-based firm Anapol Weiss, which separately filed a class-action suit against Roblox on behalf of multiple families in 2023. Roblox's safety profile has come under increased scrutiny in recent years as its daily active user base surpassed more than 79 million people, roughly 40% of whom are preteens, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Businessweek. At least two dozen people have been arrested for grooming or abducting children they met on Roblox since 2018, Bloomberg reported.
The parents who filed the lawsuit this month said their 13-year-old son — an avid user of Roblox and Discord — was targeted by a man who took advantage of lax protections that make both platforms a "hunting ground" for child predators.
The boy's parents allege Roblox and Discord have intentionally misrepresented their safety features for years to give parents a false sense of security about the platforms. Roblox updated its default settings in November to prevent adult users from contacting children under 13, but the lawsuit contends these changes are "woefully inadequate" and the game still does nothing to verify whether users' accounts have been created with accurate birthdates.
The suit claims Roblox gives predators an "initial access point" to connect with children and move their conversations to other apps like Discord. The complaint further alleges Discord has failed to address vulnerabilities that would protect children from "rampant and thriving" sexual exploitation on the platform.
. . . .
‘Roblox and Discord know exactly what’s happening on their platforms," Kristen Gibbons Feden, a partner at Anapol Weiss, said in a statement. "They have the resources to protect children but choose profits over safety. Our client’s life has been changed forever because of their reckless indifference.’”
Read the full article here: Family from N.J. sues Roblox and Discord, claiming platforms are 'hunting ground' for child predators
