- The state of Texas is taking Roblox Corp. to court over allegations that the online gaming platform is exposing children to sexually explicit content and exploitation.
- Despite over 50 requests for information, Roblox has largely remained unresponsive to Texas’ inquiries regarding child safety on its platform.
- Roblox denies the allegations, stating that it has effective safety programs for children, but Texas is seeking fines of $10,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act dating back to 2006.
The state of Texas is going to court today to ask a judge to force Roblox Corp. to comply with its requests for information in a case alleging the massive online gaming company is exposing children to sexually explicit content and exploitation.
Attorneys for the state said that despite more than 50 requests, the California company has largely stayed mum.
The requests stem from a lawsuit filed in November alleging Roblox is “a breeding ground for predators” filled with what Attorney General Ken Paxton called “pixel pedophiles.”
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Roblox has denied the allegations, saying that while it can do better, the platform has effective safety programs for children.
Of the 11 questions and 45 requests for documents Texas made in January, the state said, the company sent only one response – an organizational chart.
“These requests … go to the core of the State’s claims: whether Roblox deceived Texas parents about the safety of its platform while knowingly exposing children to predators,” the state said in a June filing asking a state District Court judge in Austin to order the company to respond.
In an email response to questions, a Roblox spokesperson said it had produced thousands of documents and the state’s claim that little had been produced was wrong.
In its own motion, the company said the state of Texas has failed to disclose information Roblox is seeking.
It noted that in his case, Attorney General Ken Paxton said the company’s platform was filled with “sick and twisted freaks.” Roblox has asked the state to identify those users, the alleged predators Texas said it has identified and their victims. It said the state has failed to do this in two rounds of initial disclosures after a year of pre-suit investigation.
“When pressed, the State represented that it is not aware of the predators’ and/or alleged victims’ identities and that only local county prosecutors possess that information,” Roblox said in its motion.
The state later identified one predator. However, multiple Texas lawsuits have been filed by users or family members alleging loved ones have been abused through contacts on the Roblox platform.
Roblox also said the state had failed to explain its legal theories and the facts they rely on and to respond as the state plaintiff rather than just as the Consumer Protection Division of the attorney general’s office.
The company also is asking a judge to force a response to its requests.
The lawsuit was originally filed in King County – a Northwest Texas county with 192 residents – but was transferred in February to Travis County. In information shared with investors last month, Roblox said it could not determine the possible cost of the lawsuit.
Texas has said it would like to fine the company $10,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act for a period beginning in 2006. Some calculations have estimated potential fines at tens of millions of dollars.
The disagreement comes after Roblox last month told investors how much it has spent on child safety.
On a call after reporting its second quarter earnings, Roblox said it spent $91 million settling claims with at least five of the 10 states that have filed lawsuits like the one in Texas. It also said it spent $236 million on “certain infrastructure and Trust & Safety expense” in the second quarter, up more than 50% from a year ago. And, in January, it rolled out an age verification process.
In its second quarter letter to investors, Roblox also acknowledged that it monitors how engagement on its platform is affected by new safety programs. Its data showed that while engagement had been reduced by stricter child safety and age-verification features, it still had about 29 billion hours of user engagement in the second quarter.
In the April-June period, the company reported a loss of $183 million, an improvement from a loss of $278 million a year earlier. Revenue, though, jumped 36% to $1.47 billion.
Roblox stock is down more than 70% from a year ago in response to forecasts of declining engagement.
This article originally published at Texas says Roblox withholding records in child safety case. Roblox pushes back..
