Louisiana's lawsuit against Roblox fuels debate over mandatory age verification and digital privacy

By lauraharris // 2025-08-23

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Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against Roblox, accusing the platform of failing to protect children due to its lack of age verification and inadequate safety measures.
Murrill argues that without digital ID requirements, predators can easily pose as children. She is calling for nationwide age verification laws across all major tech platforms.
Critics on social media accused Murrill of using child safety as a cover for increased government surveillance, warning that digital ID systems could erode privacy and civil liberties.
The company cited existing protections, including restricted chat for users under 13, unencrypted message monitoring, and a new selfie-based age verification system for teens.
Roblox said its AI tools helped flag over 1,200 potential exploitation cases in early 2025, but Murrill maintains that the lack of identity checks still leaves children vulnerable.

A new lawsuit filed by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill against the popular online game Roblox is intensifying a debate over online safety, digital privacy and the growing push for mandatory age verification laws across the internet. In a press release on Thursday, Aug. 14, Murrill accused the online platform of creating an unsafe environment for children by failing to implement sufficient user age verification protocols. The lawsuit, filed in state court, alleges that the platform's lax security has turned it into a "breeding ground" for child predators and harmful content. "Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue and profits over child safety," she stated in a press release. "Due to Roblox's lack of safety protocols, it endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana." (Related: CLAIM: Popular online game Roblox accused of functioning as an avenue for CHILD EXPLOITATION, with 13K incidents reported and 24 predators arrested in 2023.) On X, formerly known as Twitter, Murrill doubled down, posting, "Big Tech platforms must get on board with age verification laws." This, in turn, quickly garnered the attention of X users, who accused Murrill of using child safety as a pretext to expand government surveillance and control. "DO NOT BE FOOLED. THIS IS NOT ABOUT KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE. IT IS ABOUT CENSORSHIP AND CONTROL," one commenter warned, adding, "Companies can't even protect your debit card or phone number. DO NOT TRUST THEM WITH YOUR IDENTITY." An image circulating alongside the post titled "Five Reasons to Say NO to Digital ID" outlined key concerns: privacy violations, centralized authority, risk of data breaches, exclusion of vulnerable users and the irreversible loss of personal freedoms. Others criticized the approach for shifting accountability away from families. "Why can't you encourage parents to parent?" another user asked. "Age verification will do nothing. You don't bring your kids to a bar, don't leave the Internet to raise them. There are ample parental tools." Some reactions were more scathing, accusing officials of exploiting real abuse cases to push an authoritarian agenda. "You want to build a social-credit panopticon," another user posted. "The fact that you are using actual harassment and abuse as a Trojan horse to do so is vile."

Roblox defends safety measures amid growing pressure for stricter age verification

Roblox, which boasts over 111 million monthly active users, describes itself as "the ultimate virtual universe that lets you create, share experiences with friends and be anything you can imagine." The platform, as per Brighteon.AI's Enoch, "is especially popular among children and teenagers, with its user base skewing heavily toward younger audiences." According to a public statement from Roblox, it has a "zero tolerance policy for the exploitation of minors." It also claims to have specific features designed to limit risk for its youngest users, including restricted chat capabilities for players under the age of 13, unless they receive explicit parental permission. The company also noted that private messages on the platform are not encrypted, allowing internal teams to monitor conversations and flag suspicious behavior. In July, Roblox rolled out a new feature for older teens: a video selfie verification system for users aged 13 to 17. The tool allows verified teens to access unrestricted chat features, but only when engaging with pre-approved "trusted connections." The system is still in a testing phase. The platform has also started deploying artificial intelligence to proactively detect signs of grooming and exploitation. These AI systems scan chats for sexually suggestive language and other red flags, helping the company identify potential threats. Still, Murrill argued that adults can easily bypass these safeguards to pose as children and create accounts that require no verified identity. Visit TechGiants.news for more stories like this. Watch this video video about Meta targeting children.

This video is from the TNP (The New Prisoners) channel on Brighteon.com.

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Roblox defends safety measures amid growing pressure for stricter age verification

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