Latest news with #DiddyParty
UPI
17 hours ago
- UPI
Louisiana AG Murrill accuses Roblox site of endangering children
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, in a state lawsuit filed on Thursday, accused the online gaming site Roblox of endangering children by making them vulnerable to online sexual predators. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill accused California-based Roblox of enabling online predators to endanger children in a state lawsuit filed on Thursday. Murrill filed a lawsuit against Roblox in the state's 21st Judicial District Court in Livingston Parish, where an alleged sexual predator of children recently was arrested while using the site. "Due to Roblox's lack of safety protocols, it endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana," Murrill said in a statement. "Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue and profits over child safety," she said. "Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger posed to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their home." Roblox reports 56% of its users are age 16 or under, including 40% who are age 12 or under, Murrill said. She said the interactive online gaming platform that was launched in 2006 has nearly 82 million active daily users who can access millions of online games. Among them are games with names that include "Escape to Epstein Island," "Diddy Party" and "Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe." Such games "are often filled with sexually explicit material and simulated sexual activity, such as child gang rape," Murrill said. She cited a recent report that shows openly traded child pornography and solicitations for sex from minors among 3,334 of Roblox members. Murrill noted that Livingston Parish police officers recently arresting a local Roblox user in Livingston Parish under suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material. The suspect allegedly was active on the Roblox site at the time of the arrest and used voice-altering technology to mimic a young female's voice, she said. The individual allegedly was luring and sexually exploiting minors on Roblox, which is one example of why her office has taken legal action against Roblox, Murrill added. She accuses Roblox of violating the Louisiana Unfair Practices Act, negligence and public nuisance, and unjust enrichment and seeks civil penalties, restitution for the state's enforcement activities and other damages. Roblox officials denied allegations that the site intentionally or negligently enables such activities. "Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue," the company said in a statement on Friday. "No system is perfect, and bad actors adapt to evade detection, including efforts to take users to other platforms, where safety standards and moderation practices may differ," Roblox officials said. "We continuously work to block those efforts and to enhance our moderation approaches to promote a safe and enjoyable environment for all users."
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Roblox Stock (RBLX) Drops on 'Perfect Place for Pedophiles' Lawsuit
Roblox (RBLX) stock took a beating on Friday after Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against the video game platform. The lawsuit alleges that the failure of the company to develop safety protocols has created a platform that is the 'perfect place for pedophiles.' Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. The lawsuit takes issue with the age verification system on the platform, which allows users to easily lie about their age and access areas designed for children. Murrill argues the company's current system 'prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety,' and that it has intentionally or recklessly created a platform that puts children in danger. Child safety is a major concern for Roblox, as roughly 20% of its users are age nine or under. With such a large audience made up of children, the company needs to be strict in how it manages content. However, it has failed to do so, with player-made content such as 'Escape to Epstein Island' and 'Diddy Party' being available on the platform. Roblox Blocks Predator Hunter Schlep The lawsuit from Attorney General Murrill comes in the same week as Roblox's ban of YouTuber Schlep. Schlep, who has over 600,000 subscribers, specifically hunted child predators on Roblox. His reports have resulted in several arrests. He was inspired to do this after he was allegedly groomed on the platform and was unsatisfied with Roblox's response. on Friday but remained up 101.81% year-to-date. The shares have also rallied 208.65% over the past 12 months. Is Roblox Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Roblox is Strong Buy, based on 16 Buy, three Hold, and a single Sell rating over the past three months. With that comes an average RBLX stock price target of $145.20, representing a potential 23.92% upside for the shares.
Engadget
2 days ago
- Engadget
Louisiana Attorney General has filed a "Child Protection" lawsuit against Roblox
The state of Louisiana is suing online gaming platform Roblox, alleging that it fails to adequately protect its majority underage user base from online predators. In the state's lawsuit , they allege that Roblox is failing to "implement basic safety controls" such as biometric age verification upon account creation or checking that parental consent has been given to open an account. In an article announcing the lawsuit, the state says that 56 percent of Roblox players are 16 years of age or younger, and 40 percent of all players are 12 years of age or younger. "Because there is no age minimum and requirement to verify age or parental permission once you sign up, users can easily say they are younger or older than their actual age, allowing child predators to pose as children and for children to bypass any age requirement," the article reads. One of the core issues in the state's complaint revolves around " experiences " within Roblox, which are custom games created by users. There are over 6.4 million experiences on the platform, and the state's suit points out specific ones it finds particularly troubling such as 'Escape to Epstein Island,' 'Diddy Party' and 'Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe.' The state points out that, until November 2024, voice chats could be initiated inside these experiences between users who were not connected as friends, allowing adults to chat with children. While this was changed to disallow adults from chatting with users under 13 in these experiences, the state points out that, since creating an account posing as a minor is quite easy, the platform is still not doing enough to protect users within the experiences. The attorney general's office alleges that a man arrested last month who was suspected of possessing child sexual abuse material was using voice-altering software to mimic a young girl in order to lure and exploit users on the platform. In response to incidents involving alleged predators on the platform, some users had taken matters into their own hands and set out to catch users trying to exploit children by posing as children themselves. One popular user named "Schlep" was basically running To Catch a Predator within Roblox and was controversially banned from the platform this month. Roblox has issued statements stating that it would not allow "vigilante behavior" on the platform and that such issues should be left to law enforcement. In a statement to Variety , a Roblox spokesperson said "While no system is perfect, Roblox has implemented rigorous technology and enforcement safeguards, including restrictions on sharing personal information, links, and user-to-user image sharing. The safety of our community is a top priority." The state is seeking permanent injunctive relief against Roblox, civil penalties and actual damages, though no specifics on damages have been shared. Louisiana is the first state to file suit, though Florida may follow . If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Why is the state of Louisiana suing Roblox?
(Image via Getty Images) Roblox recently has been undergoing a lot of legal scrutiny. Adding to the troubles, Louisiana authorities have filed a lawsuit against Roblox, the online gaming platform. The state alleged the platform has fundamentally failed to fulfil its duties and is prioritizing growth over the essential safeguards. Here is all that's been reportedly available to date about the Louisiana Roblox lawsuit and the claims made in it. Why is Louisiana suing Roblox? A lawsuit led by Attorney General Liz Murrill reportedly alleges that Roblox has been knowingly prioritizing profits over child safety. The platform that hosts millions of young users has Roblox age verification issues, parental controls concerns and insufficient warning about the predatory risks on Roblox. As per the lawsuit, it makes it a hunting ground for the predators who target children. Arguing further, Murill stated that such negligence creates an environment wherein harmful content thrives. It proves the failure of the platform to protect young users from severe online dangers. Specific games like Diddy Party, Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe and Escape to Epstein Island were cited as examples of the inappropriate content that remains accessible to minors via Roblox. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Simple Morning Habit for a Flatter Belly After 50! Lulutox Undo As per the authorities, such experiences, which are often categorized as suitable for all ages, contained sexually explicit material. The suit further described simulated activities, including exploitative material, open trading, and child gang rape. The lawsuit further pointed to certain cases wherein predators use the voice-alteration technology for deceiving children—a recent arrest made in Livingston Parish. Despite the claims of moderation made by the platform, the state has argued that Roblox safety measures prove to be insufficient for preventing exploitation. Roblox's alleged neglect, despite receiving widespread warnings, enables the predators directly. The complaint specifically accused the company of creating dangerous circumstances through its inactions and actions. It pointed to Roblox CEO David Baszucki and his encouragement of adult-oriented content development, as the evidence of priority imbalance. Roblox's pattern of failure causes real-world harm Louisiana's case is not the first one for Roblox, when the platform faced scrutiny. Earlier this year, a 13-year-old girl got abducted from Iowa by a man she met through the gaming platform. Incidents like these of these incidents prompted countries like China, Qatar, Turkey, etc., to take Roblox legal scrutiny and ban the platform over child safety concerns. They all believe that the rapid growth of the platform that boasts 111 million monthly users has outpaced its ability to enforce online gaming safety protocols. While Roblox did introduce some features like age verification tests and AI monitoring, critics suggest that these steps are reactive and not preventive. The current lawsuit by the state of Louisiana seeks penalties and demands stricter security measures, like mandatory age checks, parental notification, etc. If they are successful, this case can set a precedent for how online platforms are regulated for protecting minors. It can even force Roblox to overhaul safety policies, in the absence of which they would face legal consequences. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
Louisiana attorney general sues Roblox, calling the platform 'the perfect place for pedophiles'
Louisiana's top prosecutor sued the popular online gaming platform Roblox, alleging in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the company's failure to implement strong safety protocols for children has made it 'the perfect place for pedophiles.' The suit, filed by Attorney General Liz Murrill in Louisiana's 21st Judicial District, accuses the California-based company of intentionally or recklessly designing a platform with no age verification process, allowing Roblox's tens of millions of users to easily create accounts with fake birthdays. Adults can pose as children, according to the suit, and kids can bypass controls meant for users under 13. Launched in 2006, Roblox has a sprawling catalogue of games and "experiences," many of which are designed by users and include real-time messaging. According to the company's 2024-2025 annual report, 20% of the platform's 82 million active users were under the age of 9, the lawsuit states. 'Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety,' Murrill said in a statement. 'Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger [posed] to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their own home.' The 42-page suit points to a raft of sexually-explicit 'experiences' that have been on the platform, including 'Escape to Epstein Island,' 'Diddy Party' and 'Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe,' and it alleges that a man arrested on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material in Louisiana last month was using the platform at the time he was taken into custody. The man had used voice-altering technology to mimic the sound of a young female to lure and sexually exploit minors on the platform, according to the suit. The suit, which alleges unfair trade practices, negligence and unjust enrichment, does not specify damages but seeks a permanent order barring Roblox from violating the state's unfair trade practices act or promoting its safety features as adequate, which the suit says the company routinely does. A spokesperson for Roblox declined to comment on the allegations, citing pending litigation, but said the company dedicates "substantial resources" to help "detect and prevent inappropriate content and behavior, including attempts to direct users off platform, where safety standards and moderation may be less stringent than ours." "While no system is perfect, Roblox has implemented rigorous technology and enforcement safeguards, including restrictions on sharing personal information, links, and user-to-user image sharing," the spokesperson said. "The safety of our community is a top priority." In November, the platform announced a series of safety measures that barred users under the age of 13 from sending direct messages and included new content categories to help determine what is age-appropriate for users. Those measures were rolled out the month after New York-based analyst Hindenburg Research called Roblox an 'X-rated pedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech.' Roblox denied the claim, saying in a statement that the analyst's report was misleading and citing what it described as significant investment in trust and safety measures. Thursday's lawsuit described the company's recent safety measures as 'too little, too late, and woefully inadequate.'
