Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the online gaming platform Roblox for allegedly exposing children t
o sexually explicit content and exploitation, the latest in a flurry of lawsuits from his office aimed at big business.
Texas is the third state to sue Roblox, after Kentucky and Louisiana, on the grounds that the company is not suff
iciently protecting minors. Dozens of private suits have been filed in the last few months as well, primarily by families who sa
y their children were sexually abused, exploited or exposed to inappropriate content while using the gaming platform.
On Thursday, a California judge ruled that a high-profile lawsuit
against Roblox must proceed in the public eye, after the company tried to handle it in private arbitration.
In a statement, Roblox said it shares Paxton’s commitment to keeping kids and teens safe online and pointed t
o “industry-leading protocols” it had employed to protect users.
“We are disappointed that, rather than working collaboratively with Roblox on this industry-wide challenge an
d seeking real solutions, the AG has chosen to file a lawsuit based on mi
srepresentations and sensationalized claims,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
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Paxton, who is running to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s GOP primary, said the platform had be
come a “digital playground for predators where the well-being of our kids
is sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.”
“Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted fre
aks hiding behind a screen,” Paxton said in a statement. “Any corpora
tion that enables child abuse will face the full and unrelenting force of the law.”
In 2023, Texas lawmakers strengthened laws requiring socia
l media platforms to protect minors from inappropriate content online. That legislation is still fighting its way thr
ough the courts and parts have been blocked for being unconstitutionally vague.
But Paxton has used the remaining provisions of the law to bring l
awsuits against TikTok and now, Roblox. The litigation against TikTok is ongoing.
The Roblox lawsuit is filed in West Texas’ King County, the second
least populous county in Texas with just 265 residents and no incorporated communities. One judge, Jennifer Haber
t, hears cases in King County, as well as three others.