Roblox, Discord Face Lawsuit After Child Targeted Online

A DeKalb County family has filed a federal lawsuit against popular platforms Roblox and Discord after their now-14-year-old son was targeted by a sexual predator.

As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, the lawsuit was filed in California federal court, where both companies are headquartered.

The boy’s mother, identified as “Jane Doe,” is seeking a jury trial and unspecified financial damages. She claims that her son (“John Doe”) suffered from severe mental health issues and trauma after the incident.

According to the lawsuit, the incidents occurred in 2023, when the boy began communicating with a predator through Roblox’s chat. The man, posing as another child, later moved the conversation to Discord. It was there that he sent graphic messages to the child and coerced him into sending explicit photos and videos.

The mother, who initially trusted Roblox’s safety features enough to let her child use the platform, was unaware of the situation as it happened.

Matthew Dolman, principal of Dolman Law Group, which represents the family, issued a statement:

“This case against Roblox is a terrifying reminder of the world we live in where capitalist greed far outweighs humanity. There have never been sufficient safety measures and protocols in place, putting our youngest and most vulnerable communities into unimaginable harm’s way every second of the day. Without forcing systemic change, Roblox will continue to operate anarchically.”

Roblox did not respond to FOX 5’s request for comment. Meanwhile, Discord provided a statement without mentioning pending litigation:

“Discord is deeply committed to safety and we require all users to be at least 13 to use our platform. We use a combination of advanced technology and trained safety teams to proactively find and remove content that violates our policies. We maintain strong systems to prevent the spread of sexual exploitation and grooming on our platform and also work with other technology companies and safety organizations to improve online safety across the internet.”