[00:02] >> of that game are now facing mounting criticism over child safety concerns. >> Games like this are not helping. >> The Roblox corporation has sent a cease >> Instead of stopping the predators, Roblox stops the people stopping the
[00:16] Roblox stops the people stopping the predators. They are the problem. Roblox, and now they're getting sued. The platform promised to be safe, but the reality is very different. So, today I'm breaking down the entire case, even
[00:29] meeting with some of the biggest YouTubers, and then, on behalf of everyone, I'm helping to sue Roblox. This summer, Roblox was hit with a massive lawsuit centered on a young player known as DH. The lawsuit claims
[00:41] she joined the platform after believing the company's promise that it was safe and educational. While using Roblox, she was allegedly approached by an adult platform's moderation systems didn't catch it. She was later taken from her
[00:54] home and abused by the same individual, and she's not alone. Since 2018, police have arrested at least two dozen people accused of misusing Roblox to contact young users and move chats off platform. Some had prior records, others were
[01:08] people in trusted roles like teachers, nurses, even a cop. Even Roblox has reported over 13,000 flagged incidents on its platform, a huge jump from roughly 3,000 the year before. Roblox says that's just a small fraction
[01:21] compared to all US reports. But for parents, the numbers feel staggering. argues Roblox allegedly knew these risks, but kept selling parents on the idea of a safe digital playground. Even some of Roblox's biggest creators are
[01:36] speaking out. Take Schlep, a YouTuber with over a million subscribers. When he was younger, he says he had a troubling experience involving a Roblox developer. All that happened to me, it totally messed me up mentally. Uh it made me
[01:48] have to go into therapy and psychologically messed with, you know, relationships that I had. Even till this day, I mean, it it's something that uh, you know, it was messed up. That experience pushed him to act. As an
[02:00] adult, he began working with police by conducting investigations on Roblox. His people. So, Schlep, what was the goal when you started making videos about safety issues on Roblox? It really all started back to my own personal
[02:14] experiences related to it. Uh I had very negative experiences as a kid, and I was affected by a very popular developer. So, I saw these issues first-hand. Like, I experienced them. But instead of celebrating him, Roblox banned his
[02:28] accounts and sent a cease and desist letter, accusing him of violating the rules against vigilante groups. They're trying to silence the whistleblowers. people like Schlep, but what they're
[02:40] this whole thing. They're also trying to silence all the victims. And this is important, like That same day, Schlep dropped an 8-minute video where he troubling experience with the Roblox developer. Schlep slammed Roblox for
[02:53] failing to take action against the developer for years. He claims during that time, Roblox even continued to pay and promote the developer. Afterwards, the backlash exploded. Roblox developers changed game thumbnails to say free
[03:06] Schlep. Thousands of players staged in-game protests. Even major creators like Moist Critical, Gideon, and Creek Craft piled on, calling Roblox backwards and hypocritical. #freeschlep trended worldwide. I was blown away with all the
[03:20] support, and it's been absolutely amazing reading all the messages. It was trending on Twitter for 3 days straight when the news first broke of it, and I saw it for what it was. They were silencing someone trying to blow the
[03:33] whistle. I think that's a really really powerful thing. He was a 22-year-old kid. He was just a gamer, and I think he really stepped up to the plate to stand up to this Goliath. Then it went mainstream.
[03:45] Congressman Ro Khanna publicly backed Schlep, sharing a petition demanding Roblox improve its safety. That petition hit 100,000 signatures in less than a week, and Roblox's stock price dropped by $12 billion.
[03:58] Now, Schlep, did you expect your videos to get as much attention as they did? Honestly, no. My whole goal with these videos was actually just to bring this to the attention of Roblox. Like, I wanted Roblox to see what was going on,
[04:10] communities to Roblox. I was making reports on a lot of these people. Nothing was happening, and the only other thing you can do is go public with >> But the story doesn't end there. Schlep just announced he's suing Roblox, not
[04:24] over the ban, but over the damage he says he suffered years ago from a developer on the platform. His lawyer confirmed he's also representing many others with similar stories. We have over 800 cases involving sex abuse.
[04:38] These are personal injury claims. So, survivors are coming forward because of they experienced. Yeah, we think it's a very strong case, and and I think that's hard to try and move this into some types of confidential proceedings, so
[04:52] happened, and then they won't. >> And now, because of you all bringing the decision to team up with Schlep's lawyer to help sue Roblox. Reach out to my firm, I think I have a case.com, if you've gone through something similar.
[05:07] they experienced on Roblox, what would you tell them? I would tell them to call lawyer, find out about their legal options, and let them know that they will be believed. There's strength in numbers. Terrible things happen on
[05:20] Roblox. Hundreds and hundreds of people have come forward. We're here for you. Definitely reach out to us. We are here to help. Now he's fighting back in court, cuz if Roblox won't be held accountable in their own platform, we'll
[05:32] in court. Now, let's investigate how Roblox is designed, because the lawsuits claim there are at least three serious flaws. First, until 2021, anyone could make an account by entering just a username, password, and birth date.
[05:46] unlock unrestricted chat, which the lawsuits claim made it very common to find lower levels talking with adults. YouTubers like Gideon and Rod the Master, who have become well-known for exposing bad actors, have said just how
[05:59] easy it is. When we went on Roblox, it did not take long for our account to get attention from child predators. It was almost instantaneous. Roblox says it's younger players. The company has rolled out ID verification, asking players over
[06:14] 13 to scan a government-issued ID and selfie to gain access to certain features. It's also testing age estimation, where machine learning guesses a user's age from a short video. And new features like trusted
[06:26] chat and voice features to people you actually know in real life. >> You know, we weren't just finding one or two predators on there. We've caught six off of the game itself. But not only that, we've had dozens of these guys
[06:40] just contacting and grooming our decoy that we sadly weren't able to catch. And Roblox is going around telling parents that they're one of the safest apps for that's not the case. >> Even with ID checks and trusted
[06:54] makes full protection something that has to be taken even more seriously. Unless games and stuff like that, anybody can pretty much sign up for Roblox. Next, the game uses in-game currency called Robux. Players use Robux to buy rare
[07:10] accessories and customize their avatars, and many lower levels are obsessed with it. The lawsuits point out these players even say they do anything for Robux. So, bad actors can take advantage of that by dangling Robux to gain control. And
[07:24] third is the lack of moderation. In 2017, the company claimed it had thousands of moderators working 24/7, plus advanced filters blocking unsafe content. The reality looks very different. For starters, Roblox has
[07:37] hosted mini games with questionable themes, including Run from Diddy Simulator, Shower Simulator, and Bloody Battles. The fact that these games even existed undercuts Roblox's claim of being a safe, moderated place. But it's
[07:50] not just the games that are concerning. Roblox is now the go-to social platform for younger audiences. 78 million users log in every day. The platform processes more than 50,000 chat messages every second. Roblox claims its AI and human
[08:06] reviewers scan all of it, text, audio, and images. But here's the problem. The company allegedly employs only about 3,000 moderators. Compare that to TikTok, roughly three times Roblox's daily users, but over 13 times the
[08:21] number of moderators on staff. The reason for the lack of moderators is allegedly due to Roblox's focus on growth over safety. In fact, eight current and former trust and safety staff described ignored requests for
[08:33] more resources, backlogs of incident reports, and even a manager quitting after promised hires never showed up. Some say protective features they suggested, like pop-up warnings, were rejected, and safety settings, like
[08:45] blocking strangers in chat, were switched off by default. Once again, Roblox points to AI moderation as the solution, but employees admit the tech still misses the subtle signs of unsafe behavior, and the gaps aren't small. The
[08:58] filters block words like Snapchat or Discord, but people get around them by using emojis or by tweaking the spelling a little. Even phone numbers are digits, but not if you just spell them out. The lawsuits argue that these kinds
[09:11] of loopholes prove Roblox knows the risks of off-platform communication, yet it still leaves these obvious workarounds wide open. In court, the usual defense might not save Roblox. Most platforms lean on a law called
[09:24] Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and that law protects websites and apps from being sued over what their users post. That's why Instagram or YouTube don't get dragged into court every time someone uploads
[09:36] something harmful. But the lawsuits against Roblox aren't just about what users post. They're about the company itself. Lawyers argue Roblox designed the platform in risky ways, marketed it as safe, and then ignored clear warning
[09:49] signs. And at least one court has already said Section 230 doesn't cover misrepresentation. So, if Roblox tells parents this is safe, and it's not, that responsibility falls on Roblox, not the users. That's why these lawsuits matter
[10:03] to me. They represent more than just a few individual complaints. They're part companies to take accountability, especially when their platforms are hurting younger players. Now, multiple cases are moving forward, and a jury
[10:16] held responsible. And if the plaintiffs win, the fallout could be huge because it would set precedents that might force Roblox and other platforms like it to overhaul how they verify users and protect younger audiences. And I don't
[10:30] many people will reach because YouTube topic. It's kind of scary because people are afraid to put out information on this, but we feel like it's our duty to make sure that everyone knows. If you or
[10:44] someone you know needs help, reach out to us. Thank you for watching.