SC demands answers from gaming platform already sued by other states

COLUMBIA — The popular gaming platform Roblox already faces lawsuits from at least five states alleging it doesn’t protect children from sexual predators — and now South Carolina’s chief prosecutor is pursuing his own investigation.

Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Tuesday he’s seeking answers from California-based Roblox Corp. ahead of potentially adding South Carolina to the list of suing states.

Questions asked in the administrative subpoena — officially called a civil investigative demand — include how many South Carolina children use the site, how it moderates content, and whether sellers can advertise directly to children.

“Roblox markets itself as the No. 1 gaming site for kids and teens,” Wilson said in a news release. “But ensuring the safety of our children online is a top priority for me, and if Roblox is deceiving parents on their safety protocols, they deserve to be held accountable.”

Matt Kaufman, Roblox’ chief safety officer, said the company shares Wilson’s “commitment to helping keep children safe online.

“As a space specifically designed with children in mind, Roblox has advanced safeguards that monitor the platform for harmful content and communications,” he continued in a statement to the SC Daily Gazette.

That includes eliminating users’ ability to send or receive images via chat, which Kaufman called one of the most prevalent opportunities for misuse.

By first filing a civil demand for information, Wilson took a different approach than his fellow GOP attorneys general in Kentucky, Texas, and Louisiana, who sued the platform earlier this year. Iowa’s Republican attorney general sued Tuesday. Florida’s GOP attorney general issued a civil subpoena to Roblox in April before filing a lawsuit in state court last week.

Also last week, a federal judicial panel combined nearly 80 lawsuits accusing Roblox of knowingly facilitating child sexual exploitation to be heard together before a San Francisco court, according to Reuters. An Iowa family who sued the platform in July alleged their 13-year-old daughter was kidnapped and raped by an adult man she met and began messaging on Roblox, the Des Moines Register reported.

Roblox is a free online gaming platform that boasts 150 million daily active users and offers a customizable virtual universe along with the opportunity for users to message and chat with each other. It allows users as young as 5 years old, unlike sites like Instagram or Discord, and says it uses chat monitoring and filters to block users from sharing personal information like phone numbers.

Last month, a California judge ruled against Roblox in one of the many lawsuits it now faces. A father had sued the platform, alleging it misled him about its safety features and was liable for his son’s sexual abuse. The platform had sought to force the case into private arbitration, citing its terms of service. The judge rejected its request.

A week later, the company announced new safeguards for its young users. In January, it will begin requiring users in the United States to verify their age through either an ID or a face scan and limiting users’ ability to chat with others outside of their age group. Users under 9 years old will need parental permission to chat with other users while playing games.

Kaufman encouraged parents to visit the company’s safety center webpage to learn more about how it’s keeping children safe online.

“As a dad, I know there is no finish line when it comes to protecting kids, which is why we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day,” he said.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Iowa’s attorney general sued Tuesday.