Oct. 20 (UPI) — Florida’s attorney general announced Monday that criminal subpoenas have been issued to the online children’s gaming site Roblox as he called the platform a “breeding ground for predators.”
Attorney General James Uthmeier accused Roblox of failing to verify users’ ages and failing to moderate sexually explicit content.
“We are issuing criminal subpoenas to Roblox, which has become a breeding ground for predators to gain access to our kids,” Uthmeier announced Monday in a post on X.
“We will stop at nothing in the fight to protect Florida’s children, and companies that expose them to harm will be held accountable,” the state attorney general added.
Uthmeier said recent investigations into Roblox found sexual predators have used the in-game currency on the platform to bribe minors into sending them explicit content of themselves.
Before Monday’s criminal subpoenas, Roblox has faced lawsuits, accusing the platform of failing to implement safety measures, provide proper warnings or report incidents of child victimization.
In August, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit, which also accused Roblox of enabling online predators to endanger children after an alleged sexual predator was arrested while using the site.
“Roblox profited off of our kids while exposing them to the most dangerous of harms,” Uthmeier said. “They enable our kids to be abused.”
Uthmeier issued a subpoena against Roblox in April to get more information on how the platform moderates chat rooms and markets its site to kids.
“As a father and attorney general, children’s safety and protection are a top priority,” Uthmeier said. “There are concerning reports that this gaming platform, which is popular among children, is exposing them to harmful content and bad actors.”