Child Advocacy Groups Call on FTC to Investigate Roblox Over ‘Inappropriate’ Features
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More legal pressure is mounting against Roblox over online safety. Two child safety advocacy groups filed a request on Wednesday urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the popular online gaming platform.
Fairplay and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation claimed that Roblox’s features and communications options for users are “developmentally inappropriate” and risk harming the tens of millions of children who use the website.
The move comes after dozens of Roblox lawsuits from families and U.S. states have been filed, claiming the platform has made children easy targets for predators.
“Children are highly attuned to the social aspects of the platform, which also create some of Roblox’s most substantial risks by exposing children to harmful adults, grooming, and exploitation,” the investigation request stated.
The two advocacy groups argued that Roblox has misrepresented the safety of its platform and that its engagement-maximizing features and virtual currency violate the FTC Act.
More States, Families Take Action Against Roblox
The FTC investigation request comes as more states and local governments have begun to take legal action against Roblox over child safety concerns.
Oklahoma became the latest state to file a lawsuit last week, claiming that Roblox “turned a blind eye as predators targeted and exploited minors on its platform.” That came on the heels of a similar lawsuit filed by Indiana earlier this month.
Florida, Texas, Iowa and Nebraska are among the other states to file similar child safety lawsuits.
In addition to state-level lawsuits, individuals and families are also filing lawsuits claiming that their children came into contact with predators on Roblox.
Lawsuits generally claim that predators, often masquerading as children, contact minors through Roblox before grooming and sexually exploiting them. Families argue that Roblox prioritized profits over safety and failed to protect its users.
In December, a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) was created for Roblox lawsuits. This is a legal procedure often used when many similar lawsuits are filed or expected to be filed. An MDL places all of those cases before the same judge, allowing them to move through the legal process together.
At the start of May, nearly 150 Roblox lawsuits had been filed in the MDL.