Roblox is marketed as safe for young users. The county’s lawsuit claims Roblox isn’t doing enough to protect children from adults posing as kids.
San Diego County Monday announced three lawsuits as part of its new Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit against AppLovin, Roblox and Polymaker, cases county leaders said involve children’s safety, consumer privacy and 3D-printed ghost guns.
Terra Lawson-Remer, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, fought for the new consumer unit for more than a year, arguing the region needed stronger enforcement as federal consumer protections wane.
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“People should be able to trust the products they buy, the apps their kids use and the companies they deal with,” Lawson-Remer said.
The first suit is against AppLovin, a digital advertising platform. The county alleges that even when parents turned on controls meant to protect their children, AppLovin’s technology “bypassed those safeguards and served ads for adult dating, alcohol, vaping, cannabis, graphic sexual content and violence inside mobile games used by children.”
“Families are already stretched thin by the cost of living. They should not also have to pay the price when companies mislead them, misuse their information or put their kids at risk,” said Lawson-Remer.
The lawsuit also states the company collects sensitive information from devices, including data that could reveal where a child lives, goes to school or whether they are asleep or awake.
