Roblox sued by DeKalb County mom after 9-year-old allegedly exploited
FILE-In this photo illustration the Roblox logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A DeKalb County mother, identified in court documents only as "Jane Doe," has filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation, claiming her 9-year-old son was groomed on the platform by adults posing as children, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The suit, filed Monday in Gwinnett County State Court, alleges the popular online gaming platform failed to implement basic safety measures to protect children from predatory behavior.
What we know:
According to the complaint, the child was coerced into sending sexually explicit photos after being contacted by adults through the Roblox app. The lawsuit argues that Roblox’s platform design enables abuse by allowing unrestricted communication between users, failing to verify user ages, and doing little to intervene even after promoting itself as prioritizing child safety.
Jane Doe is seeking a jury trial. Her attorney says several other Atlanta-area families plan to file similar lawsuits in the coming weeks. He estimates at least 150 related cases could be filed across the country in the next few months.
Big picture view:
This case is the latest in a growing wave of legal action surrounding the platform.
In Iowa, a family filed suit after their child was allegedly groomed and kidnapped by a 37-year-old man she met on Roblox.
In California, a 10-year-old girl was found 250 miles from her home after reportedly communicating with a 27-year-old man via Roblox and Discord. Her family is now suing both companies, accusing them of recklessly operating platforms that allowed grooming and kidnapping to occur.
In 2022, a Clayton County man, Howard Graham, was arrested after allegedly convincing a 13-year-old girl from Kansas to run away and live with him. Police were tipped off by Graham’s roommate, who became suspicious when he realized the girl was not Graham’s stepdaughter.
The other side:
Roblox allows parents to set limits on screen time, content maturity, spending, and privacy. The company states that content labeled as mature is flagged within the app and that users under 13 are subject to strict chat filters. However, critics say these safeguards are not sufficient to prevent predatory behavior.
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As of 2025, Roblox reports over 380 million monthly active users and more than 85 million daily users worldwide.