NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is suing online gaming giant Roblox, alleging that the company lures children into an environment it knows is dangerous but promises is safe.
AG Skirmetter says Roblox violates the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
According to the lawsuit, for years, Roblox has deceived users about the serious safety risks its platform poses for kids, placing profits above child safety.
“Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground,” says Attorney General Skrmetti. “Roblox invites children into a fantastic online world with the promise of creativity and play, but that wonderland is a trap that lets the company sell sophisticated predators access to those vulnerable kids. Roblox worked to reduce oversight and child safety resources despite repeated warnings, because less overhead meant more profit. And the whole time, the company lied and said safety was its top priority.”
The AG’s office is working with the Nashville-based firm Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, PLLC. Specifically, their founding member J. Gerard Stranch, IV.
“We are proud to stand with the Attorney General in this fight to protect Tennessee families,” Stranch says. “Roblox has had nearly 20 years to fix these obvious safety flaws. Instead, they have chosen to profit from a system that monetizes the very interactions that put children at risk by ignoring these very serious flaws in the platform.”
Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer, Matt Kaufman, sent us a statement regarding the lawsuit:
“This lawsuit fundamentally misrepresents Roblox and how it works. Roblox is built with safety at its core, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day. We have 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. Safety is a constant and consistent focus of our work, and we are currently rolling out additional measures to further limit who users can chat with. We take swift action against anyone found to violate our safety rules and work closely with law enforcement to support investigations and help hold bad actors accountable.As a dad, I know there is no finish line when it comes to protecting kids, and while no system can be perfect, our commitment to safety never ends. Parents can visit our Safety Center to learn more about our safety work and ways to keep their children safe online.”Comment with Bubbles
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Florida’s Attorney General also recently issued criminal subpoenas against Roblox.
