Roblox sued by Southern California families alleging children met predators on its platform
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Video gaming platform Roblox is facing more lawsuits from parents who allege the San Mateo, Calif., company isn’t doing enough to safeguard children from sexual predators.A Los Angeles County mother, whose identity wasn’t revealed in a November lawsuit, alleges that her daughter met a predator on Roblox who persuaded her child to send sexually explicit photos of herself over the social media platform Discord.
The woman is suing both Roblox and the San Francisco company Discord.When her daughter signed up for the gaming platform last year at 12 years old, the woman thought Roblox was safe because it was marketed for children and as educational, according to the lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles County Superior Court.But then her daughter befriended a person on Roblox known as “Precious” who claimed to be 15 years old and told her child that she had been abused at home and had no friends, the lawsuit said.
Her daughter, accompanied by a friend’s parents, met up with the Roblox user at a beach and the person appeared older and attempted to introduce her to a group of older men.After they met, the predator tried to persuade the girl to visit her apartment alone in Fullerton and tried to alienate her from her family.The child suffered from psychological trauma, depression and other emotional distress because of her experiences on Roblox and Discord, according to the lawsuit.The lawsuit accuses Roblox and Discord of prioritizing profits over safety, creating a “digital” and “real-life nightmare” for children.
It also alleges the companies’ failures are systematic and other children have also suffered harm from encountering predators on the platforms.“Her innocence has been snatched from her and her life will never be the same,” the lawsuit said.Roblox said in a statement it’s “deeply troubled by any incident that endangers any user” and prioritizes online ...