Tennessee sues Roblox, alleges platform is ‘gateway for predators seeking out children’

The lawsuit accuses Roblox of misleading the public for years about the risks the platform poses to minors, claiming the company prioritized profits over child safety.

“Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground,” said 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 lawsuit takes issue with Roblox's design, and states, "Roblox’s design and features function not only as a platform for harmful content, but as a gateway for predators seeking out children and an environment tailor-made for grooming. Non-profit groups fighting child exploitation warn that Roblox 'is being used as a first point of contact for predators.'"

Tennessee joins several other states that have taken legal action against Roblox, including Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, and Iowa. Ongoing concerns have been raised nationwide about the platform’s safety, including a recent lawsuit filed by an Iowa family after a 13-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and trafficked by a 37-year-old man she met through Roblox.

The Tennessee lawsuit also takes issue with Roblox allowing users to create accounts and communicate with others without sufficient age verification. While the company has recently implemented new verification measures, the state argues that those safeguards should have been put in place much earlier. Tennessee is asking a judge to order safety reforms and impose civil penalties under the TCPA.

In response, Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement to WKRN that the lawsuit “fundamentally misrepresents Roblox and how it works.”

“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,” Kaufman said.