Hindenberg Research Report: “Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids”
In October 2024, Hindenberg Research issued a report that included the following findings:
- “[O]ur in-game research revealed an X-rated pedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech.”
- “Roblox’s social media features allow pedophiles to efficiently target hundreds of children, with no up-front screening to prevent them from joining the platform.”
- “In 2018, prior to Roblox going public, a 29-year-old was caught by police with 175 hours of video footage of him grooming and engaging in explicit behavior with 150 minors using online platforms, namely Roblox.”
- “Media and non-profit exposés from 2020 to July 2024 revealed digital strip clubs, red light districts, sex parties and child predators lurking on Roblox. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation in 2024 labeled Roblox ‘a tool for sexual predators, a threat for childrens’ safety’.”
- “Numerous criminal indictments from 2019-2024 allege that sexual predators groomed children in-game, ranging from 8-14 years old, then kidnapped, raped or traded sexual content with them.”
- “Following years of scandals, we performed our own checks to see if the platform had cleaned up its act. As a test, we attempted to set up an account under the name ‘Jeffrey Epstein’…only to see the name was taken, along with 900+ variations. Many were Jeffrey Epstein fan accounts, including “JeffEpsteinSupporter” which had earned multiple badges for spending time in kid’s games. Other Jeff Epstein accounts had the usernames “@igruum_minors” [I groom minors], and “@RavpeTinyK1dsJE” [rape tiny kids].”
- “After we found a username, we listed our age as “under 13” to see if children are being exposed to adult content. By merely plugging ‘adult’ into the Roblox search bar, we found a group called “Adult Studios” with 3,334 members openly trading child pornography and soliciting sexual acts from minors.”
Roblox is a $27 billion online gaming platform headquartered in San Mateo, CA.
Full Hindenberg Research report: https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/
February 2025 Lawsuit Against Roblox and Discord Over Alleged Role in Child Sexual Exploitation
In February 2025, the law firm of Anapol Weiss filed a lawsuit against Roblox and Discord on behalf of a 13-year-old boy who was sexually exploited. The case, Doe v. Roblox Corp., Discord Inc., and DOES 1-50, alleges that the $27 billion kids' gaming giant Roblox and the $15 billion chat app Discord are playgrounds for predators.
The complaint details how a 13-year-old was exploited by a predator who used Roblox to identify and groom the child before shifting conversations to Discord, where predators can use private chats to coerce children into sharing explicit images or meeting in person. The lawsuit also alleges predators use Roblox's virtual currency, "Robux," as bait to lure and control victims.
Kristen Gibbons Feden, a shareholder at Anapol Weiss, blasted the companies for failing to act: "Roblox and Discord know exactly what's happening on their platforms. 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."
November 2023 Class Action Lawsuit: Multiple Families Sue Roblox Corporation for Exploiting Children Online
In November 2023, Alexandra Walsh, who in 2024 became a shareholder at Anapol Weiss, filed a class action lawsuit against Roblox accusing the company of failing to warn parents about widespread harmful content for children on its platform.
The complaint alleges that to maximize users – and therefore, revenue – Roblox fails to warn and misleads parents about the widespread inappropriate and harmful content children often encounter in the virtual world. The lawsuit states that Roblox specifically misleads parents about the efficacy of its filtering technologies and its ability to make the site safe and appropriate for children.
As detailed in the complaint, children using Roblox have encountered nude avatars, avatars engaging in intercourse, and use of sex toys, as well as virtual strip clubs.
One plaintiff, “K.M.,” set up her then-seven-year-old son with a Roblox account in 2021. K.M. later discovered that multiple users sent her child abusive and profane messages directly through the Roblox messaging service. For instance, one user asked her son to perform virtual oral sex on his avatar in the game. Another user asked her son to show them his genitals, and yet another called him a malicious racial slur.
A second plaintiff, “M.P.,” has a daughter who started using the Roblox platform in 2019 when she was 9 years old. After monitoring her daughter’s account by linking it to her own, M.P. encountered links sent directly to her daughter’s account from multiple users that redirected to external pornography websites.
A third plaintiff, “D.U.,” is a father of three whose children began using the platform in 2017. In 2021, he learned that his then-12-year-old daughter had formed an online relationship with another Roblox user who purported to be the same age. In reality, his daughter’s “friend” was a senior woman. D.U. searched their chat history and discovered that the woman was attempting to groom his daughter and had sent messages of a sexual nature to her.
Business Wire Press Release: Multiple Families Sue Roblox Corporation for Exploiting Children Online
More Lawsuits Against Roblox Are On the Way
“There’s a systemic failure of safety and a systemic set of misrepresentations,” Walsh told KQED Radio after filing the February 2025 lawsuit. “Horrifically, our client in this case is one child of many who have been grievously injured as a result of that.”
Anapol Weiss is actively interviewing plaintiffs regarding additional Roblox lawsuit cases that may be filed. The firm is committed to holding Roblox and Discord accountable on behalf of others who have been sexually abused or exploited on these platforms.
