A North Carolina mother is suing gaming giant Roblox for allegedly enabling a predator to sexually exploit her young daughter through the popular children’s app.
The bombshell lawsuit, filed in North Carolina state court, alleges that Roblox knowingly created a “pedophile hellscape” while publicly promising parents its platform was safe for kids.
Jane Doe N.L., a minor, suffered “unimaginable harm” after a predator posing as a fellow child groomed her on Roblox before coercing her into sending explicit images of herself, according to the complaint filed by her mother.
The predator allegedly gave Jane Doe Robux in exchange for sexually explicit images of herself, using Roblox’s own virtual currency as a reward for compliance with his demands.
When the 10-year-old didn’t comply, he would threaten to rescind the gifted Robux currency, it was alleged in the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Roblox issued a statement to The Post which read: “We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers our users, and safety is a top priority.”
The platform’s business model centers on selling Robux, which children use Robux to customize avatars and purchase game content. Many children become “obsessed” with obtaining the virtual currency, often telling strangers they’ll do “Anything for Robux,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiff, an avid Roblox user for several years, relied heavily on the app for entertainment and social interaction, making her a prime target for predators, according to the filing.
After building trust by posing as a child, the predator escalated his grooming tactics and successfully transitioned their conversations from Roblox to text messaging, where the exploitation occurred.
“We dedicate substantial resources, including advanced technology and 24/7 human moderation, to help detect and prevent inappropriate content and behavior, including attempts to direct users off platform, where safety standards and moderation may be less stringent than ours,” the company rep said.
The lawsuit alleges, however, that proper age verification, effective parental controls and basic user screening could have prevented the abuse entirely.
Roblox’s sign-up process requires only a birthdate, username, and password — with no age verification system to prevent children from creating fake accounts with older birthdates, the lawsuit alleges.
Before November of last year, Roblox settings allowed adults to directly message children of any age, according to the filing.
The lawsuit alleges that its current safety measures remain inadequate, as the company still relies on self-reported birthdates for age verification.
“Had Defendant disclosed the truth of what was really occurring on its app, Plaintiff’s mother would never have permitted Plaintiff to use this app without her strict supervision,” the complaint states.
The young victim now suffers from “significant emotional distress, psychological trauma, and mental anguish,” with injuries described as “severe, ongoing, and permanent.”
The gaming platform, launched in 2006, has exploded in popularity among children, particularly during the pandemic. By September 2020, roughly 30 million people used Roblox daily, with more than half under age 13.
The platform averages 68.5 million daily active users, with 21% under 9 years old, 21% between 9-12 and 16% between 13-16, according to the company’s 2023 annual report.
Despite marketing itself as the “#1 gaming site for kids and teens,” Roblox allegedly prioritizes user growth over child safety, the lawsuit claims.
“You can keep your players safe, but then it would be less of them on the platform. Or you just let them do what they want to do. And then the numbers all look good and investors will be happy,” a former Roblox employee explained, according to a Hindenburg Research report cited in court documents.
The Roblox spokesperson said that “while no system is perfect, Roblox has implemented rigorous safeguards, including restrictions on sharing personal information, links, and user-to-user image sharing, and prohibiting sexual conversations.”
“We also partner with law enforcement and leading child safety organizations worldwide to combat the sexual exploitation of children.”
For years, Roblox executives have publicly assured parents of the platform’s safety.
“We take every precaution possible to make sure kids are protected from inappropriate and offensive individuals as well as from indecent and distasteful content,” Roblox CEO David Baszucki declared in a 2013 interview.
Vice President of Civility & Partnerships Tami Bhaumik recently told Parents Magazine: “We have a responsibility to make sure our players can learn, create, and play safely. This continues to be our most important priority and that will never change.”
However, the lawsuit alleges a stark contradiction. In 2019, Bhaumik admitted during a panel discussion that “digital civility did not exist at Roblox a year and a half ago and we established this and made it a movement within our company.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and demands a jury trial. The plaintiff’s attorneys argue this case represents more than individual harm — it’s “a stand against Defendant’s systemic failures to protect society’s most vulnerable from unthinkable harm in pursuit of financial gain over child safety.”
The gaming company recently appointed Matt Kaufman as Chief Safety Officer, who has claimed Roblox maintains “one of the safest online environments” for children while working to create “the safest and most civil community in the world.”
“This case against Roblox is a terrifying reminder of the world we live in where capitalist greed far outweighs humanity,” Matthew Dolman, an attorney with Dolman Law Group, which is representing the plaintiff, said in a statement.
“There have never been sufficient safety measures and protocols in place, and children are suffering unimaginably.”
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