Texas Ag Ken Paxton Sues Roblox Over Alleged Child Safety Lapses

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, accusing it of ignoring authorities and national information laws. In his announcement connected X, Paxton said nan children person been “repeatedly exposed to sexually definitive content, exploitation and grooming” connected nan online crippled platform, because it chose to prioritize “pixel pedophiles and firm profit” complete nan information of children. “Thank you,” Schlep posted successful nan comments of his announcement. Schlep was a celebrated Roblox personification who was known for staging sting operations à la To Catch a Predator connected nan platform, which had led to aggregate arrests. He was controversially banned from Roblox successful August, because he violated nan company’s caller norm that prohibits “vigilante behavior.”

“We stock Attorney General Paxton's committedness to keeping kids and teens safe online," nan institution said successful a statement. "We are disappointed that, alternatively than moving collaboratively pinch Roblox connected this industry-wide situation and seeking existent solutions, nan AG has chosen to record a suit based connected misrepresentations and sensationalized claims.”

Roblox has implemented respective measures meant to protect children complete nan past fewer years. It blocked immoderate personification nether 13 from being capable to play, hunt aliases observe immoderate unrated experiences connected nan platform, and it restricted DMs for that conception of users, arsenic well. It besides added an age estimation feature that requires a video selfie for a personification to beryllium capable to beryllium that they’re 13 aliases older. The institution intends to roll it retired to everyone by nan extremity of this year.

Texas isn’t nan only authorities suing Roblox and accusing it of failing to protect children from predators, though: Kentucky and Louisiana had antecedently revenge their ain lawsuits against nan company. Louisiana argued that nan level contains user-created experiences pinch troubling themes, specified arsenic “Escape to Epstein Island” and “Diddy Party,” contempt nan mostly of its users being nether 16. It besides pointed retired that it was imaginable to initiate sound chats wrong Roblox’s experiences, moreover betwixt users who weren’t friends, until November 2024. In 1 instance, a man who was arrested for possession of kid intersexual maltreatment materials was discovered to person utilized sound altering package to dress to beryllium a young woman successful bid to utilization children connected nan platform.

“Roblox must do much to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks hiding down a screen,” Paxton wrote. “Any corp that enables kid maltreatment will look nan afloat and unrelenting unit of nan law.” To note, nan Texas AG besides antecedently sued TikTok, alleging that it has insufficient parental controls, arsenic good arsenic Meta and Character.AI for perchance misusing information collected from underage users.