Roblox is facing a lawsuit over its child safety measures
A group of parents have filed a civil lawsuit against the online gaming platform Roblox, alleging that its lack of child safety measures has resulted in financial losses.
The details:
As reported by Business Wire, multiple families have reportedly sued Roblox, claiming to have "lost significant money" due to the gaming platform's inadequate child safety functions, with the plaintiffs also alleging that the gaming platform violated California's Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and State Consumer Protection Acts.
The parents claim that Roblox falsely advertises itself as a safe site for children, with Walsh Law founder Alexandra Walsh claiming that what can be found on Roblox "can be far more harmful" than content on TikTok and that it has "overstayed its welcome in spaces designed for kids." This includes sexual content as well as the possibility of child grooming within the platform's numerous "experiences."
It is also stated that the families collectively lost thousands of dollars from in-game purchases of the premium currency Robux, with the plaintiffs claiming that Roblox purposefully "obscures the real price of in-app purchases on the front end and makes it hard for parents to monitor those purchases."
Roblox has since responded to the situation in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, stating that the allegations will be addressed in court. "Roblox is committed to providing a positive and safe experience for people of all ages. We have an expert team of thousands of people dedicated to moderation and safety on Roblox 24/7, and we act swiftly to block inappropriate content or behavior when detected, including sexual content which violates our Community Standards," a spokesperson said."We have a number of features specifically designed to keep kids safe including filtering text chat on the platform to block inappropriate content or personal information and offering parental controls and features to limit or turn off chat. We have invested in building tools to give parents visibility into their children's activity, including to prevent them from making unauthorized purchases.
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