Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is suing Roblox and Discord, alleging both platforms are unsafe for Hoosier children.
Rokita filed a 70-page lawsuit in Hamilton County on May 6, demanding a jury assess whether Roblox and Discord ran afoul of Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, he said, by failing to create “sufficient protections against online predators.”
Roblox, a massive online gaming platform catered toward children, has been in the crosshairs from attorney generals across the country in recent months. In December, there were nearly 80 active lawsuits against the San Mateo-based company with claims tied to sexual predation.
In one such suit, an Indiana father sued Roblox in November, claiming lackluster safeguards enabled the sexual exploitation of his 11-year-old daughter.
In another instance, authorities last year arrested a California man charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl he allegedly communicated with on Roblox and Discord.
Discord, a free online chat, video streaming and voice messaging service, is popular among millions of gamers. It too has been scrutinized for how it handles teen safety, most recently in the case of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee, a Fishers teen authorities say was lured to her death by an Ohio man who messaged her first on Discord.
What Todd Rokita said about Roblox and Discord
“These companies, which cater to kids and young individuals, know full well that numerous predatory sex criminals have used these platforms to contact and lure their victims,” Rokita said in a news release.
“And yet, they continue promoting themselves as safe for children. That is more than reckless,” he added. “It’s a clear and ongoing violation of Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and we are working to hold them accountable to protect Hoosier families.”
Rokita’s announcement alluded to Roblox and Discord implementing new safety features — “the effectiveness of which remains to be seen,” a spokesperson said in Rokita’s news release.
Story continues after photo gallery of Hailey Buzbee’s parents, who campaigned for the passage of “Hailey’s Law” in Indiana.
Roblox and Discord have rolled out age verification checks. Is it enough?
Both companies over the past several months have vigorously defended themselves against allegations their platforms are unsafe. In February, Discord rolled out age-verification checks to its roughly 200 million users — minors and adults alike.
“We design our products with teen safety principles at the core,” Savannah Badalich, Discord’s head of product policy, said in the February announcement.
Roblox likewise instituted their own age verification measures in January amid mounting criticism it promotes user growth and revenue over child safety.
The company has “strongly” disputed those negative claims, a Roblox spokesperson said in an earlier statement to the USA TODAY Network.
“Roblox is built with safety at its core, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day,” the spokesperson said.
In his lawsuit filed Wednesday, Rokita cited similar statements from both companies, claiming they misrepresented themselves to the public on how stringent their protections actually are. His lawsuit seeks civil penalties and attorney’s fees, as well as consumer restitution.
Read Todd Rokita’s lawsuit against Roblox and Discord
USA TODAY journalist Paris Barraza contributed.
John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at John.Tufts@IndyStar.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana AG Rokita suing Roblox, Discord. Why he says they’re not safe
Reporting by John Tufts, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
