Roblox and Discord face lawsuits over child safety allegations

Roblox Corporation and Discord, Inc. are facing legal action following allegations of negligent design and inadequate safeguards regarding child safety. A civil lawsuit filed by Dolman Law Group in the San Mateo County Superior Court alleges that the platforms enabled child exploitation and grooming.

The complaint centers on the case of an 11-year-old girl from Florida who was allegedly groomed through communication features on both apps, leading to a violent real-world kidnapping and sexual assault. The lawsuit claims the companies failed to implement basic protections and misled parents about the safety of their environments.

In addition to state court actions, federal litigation is proceeding through Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 3166 in the Northern District of California. These consolidated federal cases involve allegations that predators used Roblox to target minors and subsequently moved communications to other social media platforms.