The popular online game, Roblox, is being sued by multiple state attorneys general, who claim online predators can groom, extort and exploit kids they meet on the platform. One father says his son became a victim.

A father, identified as Steven, recounted how his 13-year-old son was targeted by an alleged sex offender on the gaming platform Roblox. The predator, posing as a teenager, befriended the boy and solicited explicit photos via Discord, leading to threats and emotional distress for the child. The incident prompted Steven, along with other families and state attorneys general, to pursue legal action against Roblox and other tech platforms, alleging insufficient protection for children.

Roblox's chief safety officer stated that the company has implemented over 100 new safety features, including age estimation and increased chat monitoring, and emphasized that image sharing is not permitted in filtered chats. Despite these measures, critics argue that the platform remains a gateway for predators. The affected family has since relocated, and Steven urges other parents to remain vigilant about their children's online activities.

Dad shares warning for parents about popular gaming platform Roblox

For Steven, a dad of two, letting his tween son play Roblox seems like a safe bet. I set up every printer control I could find and did the best I could. Roblox is one of the most popular gaming platforms in the country, hosting millions of user-created games. How fast did this happen? Days. Within hours. Steven, who asked that we use only his first name for privacy, says an alleged sex offender posing as a 16-year-old befriended his 13-year-old son on Roblox, in the platform's popular Pet Simulator game. He says the child predator then offered his son Roblox gift cards in exchange for sexually explicit photos, which the son sent via Discord, a separate gaming and chat platform. At a certain point, it was, tell me what your address is. And when he said no, he was like, well, I have these photos of you, I'll tell your parents. He was 30 feet down the hall from us and felt too trapped to come and talk to us. Steven is now among the dozens of families and attorneys general in Kentucky and Louisiana suing Roblox and other tech platforms, alleging they allowed sexual predators access to their kids. Why sue Roblox and Discord? Because at the end of the day, the thing they seem to care about the most is the bottom line of the profit. It almost feels like they're a haven for predators, pedophiles, dangerous individuals, and they should do better. The suspect pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony child endangerment. We take every case of harm extremely seriously. Matt Kaufman is the chief safety officer at Roblox. Our goal at Roblox is to be the safest place on the Internet. He says Roblox does not allow image sharing in filtered chats and has rolled out over 100 new safety features this year, including age estimation and increased chat monitoring. We have safety systems that are in place by default. And a lot of these situations that you're talking about, like sextortion, people sharing graphic images, they simply cannot happen on Roblox. Kaufman's attorney, Alexandra Walsh, is currently investigating hundreds of cases. Roblox was the gateway. Roblox is the site that gave this predator, this very dangerous man, the ability to find, target, and groom this child. How is your son doing? Day by day. Stephen has moved his family across the country, he says, to start anew, as he supports his son through depression and PTSD. What do you want your fellow parents to know? This thing happens so much faster than you can ever imagine. You want to believe that you've done everything you can and that it'll never happen to me. And I thought the same thing until it did.

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