Louisiana Attorney General announces lawsuit against Roblox for a lack of safety protocols

Today, Roblox finds itself the target of two major investigations. Not only did the Louisiana Attorney General announce they will be suing Roblox, but according to a social media post from a Roblox community account, Chris Hansen, the host of the television series To Catch a Predator, is planning a documentary “investigating Roblox’s handling of child safety issues.” This all follows just days after Schlep, a Roblox content creator known for assisting in the arrest of six predators from the gaming platform, was banned by the Roblox Corporation.

Roblox is being investigated by Chris Hansen and is being sued by the state of Louisiana

Roblox is currently one of the largest gaming platforms on the internet. Rather than simply being a game on its own, it serves as a platform for creators to host their own creations. Popular titles like Grow a Garden are games in their own right, but hosted on Roblox. Unfortunately, the platform has become notorious for predatory behavior. Content creator Schlep has famously caught at least six predators, who have since been arrested in real life. Now, it seems that others are taking aim at the problems with the site.

In a social media post, Liz Murrill, the Louisiana Attorney General, states: “Today I’m suing Roblox – the #1 gaming site for children and teens – and a breeding ground for sex predators.” Murrill’s post also links to a more in-depth discussion of the lawsuit, and while it does not get into details about what Roblox is expected to do, it does briefly mention one thing that has some users worried about the future of the internet. In the statement, Murill argues: “Because there is no minimum age requirement to verify age or parental permission once you sign-up, users can easily say they are younger or older than their actual age…” This quote seems to touch on the controversial age verification requirements that have already been put in place in other parts of the world.

The social media post was shared on the subreddit r/videogames, with some users expressing their concerns about the legal action in the comments. “This is great, but sadly this [issue] with Roblox seems like the perfect banner to fly for the groups pushing for further protection/censorship measures on the internet… I don’t want it used as a stepping stone to get us closer to that ridiculous UK [policy].” Especially with the ongoing censorship of NSFW on Steam and itch.io ongoing as well, this is an important subject for the gaming community.

But many other users agree that something needs to change at Roblox, apparently, even Chris Hansen is getting involved. Hansen became famous in the mid-2000s with his show To Catch a Predator, so it’s easy to see how this future documentary might be connected. Of course, there’s no guarantee that this documentary will happen, and it might be years before the documentary is released. During which, there might be more updates on the legal situation.

For now, we will have to see how this plays out. Schlep, in a perfect example of what you can do if you want to see more action taken against Roblox in your state or country, mentioned the Attorney General of Texas in a reply to Murrill’s announcement. Leaving Roblox to continue operating as it has doesn’t feel like a great solution, so if this case does turn into a domino for online censorship, remember to stand up to that as well. When you live in fear of what could happen, that’s when things go wrong. But if we all remain involved in holding people accountable, we can help shape the world we want to see.

Roblox

August 27, 2006

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• Overview

• lawsuits and litigation
• Roblox Corporation