A former Marine is suing Roblox for alleged sexual abuse connected to the platform, according to a lawsuit filed in a Texas federal court.
DALLAS — A Texas man is suing Roblox, alleging the popular online gaming platform’s design and safety failures allowed a predator to groom, extort and sexually abuse him when he was a child.
In a complaint filed Wednesday in a Dallas federal court, the man — identified only as John Doe — accuses the San Mateo, California-based company of falsely promoting Roblox as a safe, educational space for children while knowingly allowing predators to use it as a “hunting ground.”
Roblox is a free-to-play online platform that hosts millions of user-created games. Players can use custom avatars, interact with other players within those games, and explore different game modes.
Doe, now an adult and former U.S. Marine, alleges in the lawsuit that he was 11 years old in 2007 when he met an adult man posing as a minor on Roblox. According to the filing, the man offered in-game perks and the platform’s digital currency, Robux, in exchange for explicit images, eventually threatening to expose them unless Doe met him in person. The lawsuit alleges that the meeting led to sexual abuse.
The 96-page complaint alleges Roblox’s lack of age verification, weak moderation and unrestricted messaging created conditions that allowed predators to easily contact minors. It also cites years of publicized cases linking the platform to child exploitation, arguing the company prioritized user growth and investor satisfaction over safety.
Roblox, which launched in 2006, has grown into a massive company with a $87.89 billion market cap. The platform logs tens of millions of daily active users, many of whom are children and teens.
The company has stated that it uses filters, human moderators, and parental controls to protect minors playing the game, but the lawsuit claims those assurances are “knowingly and recklessly false.”
Doe is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as court-ordered safety reforms, including stricter age verification and content moderation.
WFAA has reached out to Roblox for comment. We’ll update this story as additional information becomes available.