State of Nebraska sues Roblox
The state of Nebraska has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, alleging violations of consumer protection and age verification laws.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has filed a lawsuit against the online gaming platform Roblox, accusing the company of misleading parents and children about how safe the platform really is. He argues that Roblox doesn’t have enough safeguards to protect young users and that it can be used by predators to target children.
According to the lawsuit, Roblox failed to take basic steps to make the platform safe. It claims that some predators have used Roblox to groom children and in some cases even lure them into dangerous situations. Instead of fixing the problem, the lawsuit says the company tried to convince families that Roblox was a safe and well-moderated environment.
Roblox is a free online gaming platform with around 150 million daily users. It offers millions of user-created games and allows players to communicate with each other through text or voice chat. The platform can also be used by very young children, starting at about five years old, which has raised additional concerns about safety.
Hilgers says the main issue in Nebraska’s lawsuit is that Roblox misleads parents by claiming it is one of the safest online environments for children and that it takes every possible precaution to protect young users. According to him, some user-created game modes and maps contain disturbing content, including simulations of school shootings, KKK rallies, virtual strip clubs, and even a fictional version of Jeffrey Epstein’s island.
He also argues that the platform can be manipulated easily, allowing adults to pretend to be younger players and communicate with minors, which can lead to grooming. Roblox recently introduced mandatory age verification using AI facial recognition or government IDs, but Hilgers said those measures are still not enough.
The lawsuit was partly motivated by the case of a man from Adams County who claims he was groomed through Roblox as a teenager and later sexually assaulted. Hilgers said Nebraska taxpayers will not pay for the lawsuit because the state is using outside legal counsel. Other states, including Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Kentucky, have also filed lawsuits against Roblox.
Roblox responded by saying the lawsuit misrepresents how the platform works and that the company takes safety very seriously. According to Roblox, it works closely with law enforcement and takes action against users who break the rules, although it admits that no online system can ever be completely perfect.