Bay Area tech companies Roblox and Discord face lawsuit for allegedly facilitating child abuse

A pair of apps based in the Bay Area that are commonly used for gaming and messaging — Roblox and Discord — are being sued for allegedly facilitating the sexual exploitation of children online.

San Mateo-based Roblox is a popular gaming platform and app marketed to young people that allows users to create their own games, while San Francisco-based Discord is a messaging app commonly primarily used by members of the gaming community. Roblox is valued at $27 billion, and Discord is valued at over $15 billion, the complaint said.

In the lawsuit filed in State Superior Court in San Mateo County on February 12, the 13-year-old male plaintiff from Spokane, Washington, claimed he was targeted by a child predator on the platforms.

Roblox exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the suit, by September 2020, the platform had roughly 30 million daily, with more than half of them under the age of 13. The company’s annual report from 2023 said Roblox had an average of 68.5 million daily active users, with 21% under 9 years of age, 21% from 9-12 years of age and 16% from 13-16 years of age.  

The lawsuit alleges that lax safety standards and systematic failures on both Roblox and Discord allow sexual predators and pedophiles to prey on children, grooming them for abuse.

The lawsuit alleges the man who allegedly targeted the plaintiff “was already facing criminal charges for sexually exploiting another child and [authorities] now believe that he exploited at least 26 other children.”

The suit alleges that the plaintiff was an avid user of Roblox and Discord and that his “father allowed Plaintiff to use these apps only because he trusted Defendants’ representations that their apps were safe for children to use.”

Roblox released the following statement when asked for a response to the litigation:

We cannot comment on pending litigation. With that being said, Roblox takes the safety of its community very seriously. We are constantly innovating and launching new safety features including more than 40 safety features and policies in 2024.   

CBS News Bay Area additionally contacted Discord for a statement and has not yet heard back.