Report from Citizen Tribune
In Brief – Tennessee is the fourth US state to sue Roblox, alleging that the company lures children into an environment it knows is dangerous but promises is safe, in violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The complaint, filed by Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti in Chancery Court of Williamson County, Tennessee, describes Roblox as an online world “where adults and children mingle with little functional oversight”. Robux, the platform’s virtual currency, is called “the currency of child exploitation” with predators allegedly offering the virtual currency to entice children to provide explicit images and sometimes those children are later extorted to pay Robux to avoid those sensitive images being exposed. The state is seeking penalties of up to $10,000 per violation of the law. Roblox, which launched several safety measures in recent years, and announced in July that they would begin rolling out age verification tools to back its age-based rules, responded that the Tennessee suit “fundamentally misrepresents” the platform and how it works.
Context – Social media critics have been pursuing legal strategies to circumvent Sec. 230 for years, including arguing that platform designs encourage “addictive” use and that algorithms are not protected by Sec. 230. While state laws based on these arguments are facing generally skeptical federal judges, civil lawsuits targeting platforms for faulty and negligent design are having better luck getting past initial court hurdles. Critics often focus their attacks on supposed harm to younger users and call for changes that will regulate, reduce, and block many teens from the platforms. This functionally requires online age verification, and sometimes verification of parents as well, when teen-protection regimes allow for parental consent waivers. Gaming platforms, which often have social features like Roblox does, are increasingly being pulled into the rapidly proliferating set of laws, regulations, and civil lawsuits, including in Australia, the UK, and a growing number of US states.