Child sexual exploitation lawsuits against Roblox centralized in San Francisco

Adds a comment from Roblox in paragraph 6.

By Diana Novak Jones

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Nearly 80 lawsuits accusing videogame platform Roblox of knowingly facilitating child sexual exploitation will be centralized before a court in San Francisco, a federal judicial panel said Friday.

The lawsuits, which were filed in courts across the country beginning earlier this year, accuse the California-based company of designing a gaming platform marketed to children that enables predators to target and contact them. The plaintiffs, who are people who say they were sexually abused or exploited as minors or their parents, allege the company failed to warn parents of the risk and did not take action to protect its young users.

In one of the cases brought by an anonymous minor plaintiff, she alleged that a predator posing as a child on Roblox contacted her, sent her sexually explicit images and eventually convinced her to meet in person, where he attempted to assault her.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation agreed with many of the plaintiffs who argued that the cases should be sent to a single judge, who can manage the administration of the case and hold so-called bellwether trials to help test the claims. The cases are similar enough to warrant centralization before U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, who is already overseeing one of the cases, the panel said.

All the cases name Roblox, but many also include Facebook parent Meta Platforms, messaging platforms Discord or Snap as defendants, alleging that conversations that began on Roblox often migrated to other platforms. The companies had urged the panel not to centralize the cases, arguing each lawsuit covers a unique situation and that many of the claims may be subject to arbitration.

In a statement, Roblox said it strongly disputes the plaintiffs' allegations in the cases and looks forward to defending itself in court.

Representatives for Meta, Discord and Snap did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alexandra Walsh, an attorney for some of the plaintiffs backing the centralization, said Roblox "has resisted accountability at every single turn and tried to silence these kids, including by opposing the consolidation that we sought."

In general, the companies have refuted the claims, arguing that they can’t be held liable for the actions of third parties on their platforms. The cases have been stayed while the panel weighed the potential for centralization.

Centralizing cases streamlines the discovery process and prevents judges from issuing conflicting rulings. But critics of multidistrict litigation, often defendant companies, say the process can make it too easy for plaintiffs' lawyers to file lawsuits without having support for their claims.

Roblox has also faced lawsuits from state attorneys general in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Florida over similar claims. Those lawsuits are in state court and are not part of the multidistrict litigation.

The case is In re: Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, No. 3166.

For the plaintiffs: Alexandra Walsh of Anapol Weiss; and Sarah London of Girard Sharp

For Roblox: Tiana Demas of Cooley

(Reporting by Diana Novak Jones)