roblox lawsuit 2022 : A lawsuit alleging child sexual exploitation has been filed against Roblox. Earlier this week, a lawsuit was filed in San Francisco alleging that the game enabled a young girl to be sexually and financially exploited. She was coerced by adult men to download Discord, Snapchat, and Instagram to communicate with them and send sexually explicit photos of herself, according to the lawsuit.
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According to Reuters (via GamesIndustry.biz), the lawsuit alleges that the men encouraged the girl, S.U., born in 2009, to abuse prescription drugs and drink alcohol.
A spokesperson for Discord told Reuters that the company has a “zero-tolerance policy for anyone who endangers or sexualizes children.” Instagram parent company Meta did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, and Roblox and Snap could not be reached, but a Discord spokesperson did say the company has a “zero-tolerance policy.”
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According to the lawsuit, S.U. began playing Roblox when she was nine or ten years old, and was first contacted by the adult men in the spring of 2020. The lawsuit alleges that they encouraged her to sign up for the other social media platforms mentioned above in order to communicate with her.
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Further, none of the companies required parental consent, and Discord did not verify her age despite a company policy prohibiting the use of the platform by children under the age of 13.
Along with being coerced into drinking, doing drugs, and sending child pornography to the adult men, one of them also allegedly persuaded S.U. to send money to them.
According to the lawsuit, S.U. has since experienced severe mental health issues, which resulted in multiple suicide attempts and hospitalizations.
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Reuters reports that Snap and Meta are already facing dozens of similar lawsuits.
The allegations of child exploitation by Roblox are not the first time the company has been in the news. In March, a 13-year-old girl was rescued from a 33-year-old man she met while playing Roblox. A man has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman.
It has also been accused of violating child labor laws because it encourages children to develop games for the company for very little compensation.
