Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) and Discord Inc., alleging the platforms prioritized profits while exposing children to exploitation. The complaint claims both companies misrepresented their safety measures and made product decisions that made it easier for predators to contact minors.
"These companies didn’t stumble into a child safety problem. They engineered one. Both companies knew exactly what was happening on their platforms. Both companies chose profit over the safety of Arkansas children. Both companies told parents, repeatedly and falsely, that their platforms were safe. Roblox left the front door unlocked, and Discord handed predators a private room. Arkansas children paid the price. That stops now," Griffin said in an announcement regarding the lawsuit.
This isn’t the first time an AG has gone after Roblox. Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the gaming platform of disregarding safety laws and misleading parents about potential risks to young users.
In the Arkansas case, Griffin alleges that Roblox failed to deploy age-check tools it already had, resisted internal proposals to warn children about grooming behavior, and kept safety spending down while revenue expanded. The release also claimed Roblox paid more than $900 million a year to developers who allegedly used the platform to spread sexually explicit content across user-created "experiences."
Roblox Responds
"Roblox is deeply committed to fostering a safe, healthy, and age-appropriate environment for our community. We strongly dispute the claims in this lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of Arkansas in Los Angeles County, California. It fundamentally misrepresents how our platform works and fails to recognize the extensive, proactive measures we are taking to set a new standard in online safety. As part of our ongoing work to strengthen user protections, Roblox recently became the first online gaming platform to require age checks for all users to access chat features so that younger users are limited to chatting with similarly aged users by default. Additionally, we recently launched new age-based accounts that automatically match our youngest users to a dynamically updated catalog of content containing select games rated for their age group, further aligning content access and parental controls with a user’s age," a spokesperson for Roblox told Benzinga.
"When we identify violations of our rules we take swift action and work closely with law enforcement to help hold bad actors accountable. While no system can be perfect, we are constantly strengthening our user protections, and we look forward to working collaboratively with Attorney General Griffin to help keep kids safe online."
Discord Under Scrutiny
The state’s filing also takes aim at Discord, which the release says has more than 200 million monthly active users and an average user age of 16. Arkansas alleged Discord’s design choices let minors bypass parental oversight and allowed adult contacts to send content without screening under default settings.
The attorney general’s office said Discord’s transparency reporting showed child-safety violations rose 150% in one quarter. The release also criticized Discord’s use of "Family Center" controls and "zero-tolerance" safety claims, which Arkansas said were misleading.
“The lawsuit’s characterization of Discord does not reflect the platform we have built or the investments we have made in user safety,” a spokesperson for Discord told Benzinga.
Users join Discord communities intentionally, based on their interests, and unlike social media, the platform has no algorithmic feed, infinite scroll, or public "likes" pushing content to mass audiences, the spokesperson said.
The company’s “safety systems” combine technology and human-led investigations, alongside user reports to help identify accounts or spaces engaged in harmful activity. The company also provides teen users and their parents or guardians with important privacy and safety tools, including Teen Safety Assist and our Family Center.
“We look forward to collaborating with policymakers in working toward a safer online experience for all users on Discord and across the internet," the spokesperson added.
Roblox, Discord: ‘Two-Stage Progression’
Arkansas described the two companies as connected in a "two-stage" progression, alleging predators initiate contact on Roblox and then move conversations to Discord for more explicit coercion, including sextortion and arranging in-person meetings.
The release said the companies have added tighter connections between the platforms, including Discord links on Roblox game pages, Discord usernames in Roblox profiles, and account-linking features on Discord.
The lawsuit invokes the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the state’s public nuisance statute, and common law unjust enrichment claim. Arkansas is seeking court orders to halt the alleged conduct, financial damages, and repayment of profits it says were wrongfully earned from Arkansas consumers.
Paxton has also alleged that Discord was misleading families while its platform enabled adults to target minors. He asked the court to require new accounts to start with the strongest safety controls turned on by default. The state also wants age checks implemented under the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment, or SCOPE, Act.
The lawsuit seeks repayment of revenue the state says came from unlawful conduct. Civil penalties can reach $10,000 per violation under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Entrepreneurs Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy co-founded Discord in 2015. Its backers include Index Ventures, Greylock Partners, Spark Capital, Tencent and Dragoneer Investment Group.
Photo: Shutterstock
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