EVERETT — Dolman Law Group filed another federal lawsuit against the Roblox Corporation on Thursday, alleging the platform created a “breeding ground” for predators and prioritized profit over child welfare.
The complaint filed on behalf of a now 14-year-old Snohomish County girl and her father in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where the corporation is headquartered, alleges the then 12-year-old unknowingly encountered a dangerous male predator on the platform, according to a press release. The complaint alleges that Roblox, an online platform where users can play or create their own games called “experiences,” creates an unfounded sense of safety in guardians, but in reality, the platform’s design makes children easily accessible to predators.
This comes after the law group filed a complaint in November against Roblox and Discord, Inc. on behalf of another Snohomish County girl and her father, alleging that, in 2024, the then 13-year-old girl encountered a male predator pretending to be a peer on the gaming platform. This man allegedly began grooming the victim while encouraging her to continue their conversations on the communication platform Discord, where the complaint alleges he sent the girl graphic messages and coerced her into sending sexually explicit images of herself.
As of Thursday, there are no updates in the November filings, according to Dolman Law Group spokesperson Lindsay Rotondi.
The events detailed in the January complaint occurred in 2023, around a year before those in the previous lawsuit. The complaint alleges that while using the platform, the victim encountered a male predator who was pretending to be a peer and began grooming the victim.
The man allegedly led the victim to believe they were in a relationship and began sending her sexually explicit messages and photos of himself, the release said. He allegedly coerced the victim into reciprocating the sexually explicit images. If she refused, he would allegedly threaten the victim until she complied.
The alleged exploitation resulted in the victim attempting to take her own life multiple times, the release said.
“We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers any user. Roblox aims to build a platform that sets the bar for safety online, and we prioritize the safety of our community,” said a Roblox spokesperson in a statement provided to The Daily Herald in an email. “This is why our policies are purposely stricter than those found on many other platforms. We limit chat for younger users, don’t allow user-to-user image sharing, and have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information. We also understand that no system is perfect and that is why we are constantly working to further improve our safety tools and platform restrictions to ensure parents can trust us to help keep their children safe online.”
During Dolman Law Group’s internal investigation of Roblox, lawyers found multiple “experiences” based on pop-culture references with titles like “Diddy Party,” “Survive Diddy” and “Escape to Epstein Island.” Despite this, the complaint said Roblox has historically marketed itself as the “#1 gaming site for kids and teens.”
Over half of Roblox users are minors, with 20% of users listed as under 9 years old, according to Roblox’s 2024 annual report. Roblox averaged 82.9 million daily active users in 2024, and on average, users spent 2.4 hours per day on the platform.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages from Roblox due to the psychological and emotional injuries the victim experienced, “including severe mental anguish and pain in addition to enduring humiliation, shame and fear as well as a profound loss of trust, safety and innocence,” the release said.
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan
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