Ohio Attorney General seeks to lead lawsuit against Roblox over alleged child-safety deception | #childsafety | #kids | #chldern | #parents | #schoolsafey


Attorney General Andy Wilson seeks to lead a lawsuit against Roblox, alleging the company misled investors about child safety, causing billions in financial losses.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson is seeking to have Ohio’s public pension funds lead a securities class-action lawsuit against Roblox, alleging the video game company misled investors about child-safety measures and their impact on user growth.

Wilson’s office filed a motion Friday, Aug. 7, asking a federal court to appoint the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) and State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) as lead plaintiffs in the case.

“The alleged deception fueled billions in losses for investors, including a combined $21.5 million for OPERS and STRS from October 2024 through April 2026,” the attorney general’s office said in a press release Monday.

In the motion, the funds say they believe they have the largest financial interest among potential lead plaintiffs.

“Roblox lied to investors and failed to protect children from online predators,” Wilson said. “We’re taking action to recover millions in lost pension funds and to make it clear that tech companies must be held accountable when they put kids in harm’s way.”

The lawsuit alleges Roblox made materially false or misleading statements about its safety initiatives, user growth and financial outlook.

According to the complaints described in the Ohio funds’ motion, Roblox represented that enhanced safety measures, including a global age-verification rollout, would support continued user engagement and growth while minimizing anticipated negative effects.

The complaints allege the company failed to disclose that the age-verification rollout could significantly reduce user engagement, communication and organic growth and ultimately affect its financial outlook.

The litigation also alleges Roblox’s historical growth was fueled in part by inadequate safety controls that exposed children to harmful content and interactions.

“While marketing itself as a safe, family-friendly platform for kids, Roblox allegedly operated an unregulated digital environment where child predators and sexual content flourished,” Wilson’s office said. “The lawsuit asserts that the company’s lack of safety features left children vulnerable to rampant exploitation.”

The Ohio funds’ motion outlines several disclosures that plaintiffs say revealed the alleged problems.

On Oct. 30, 2025, Roblox announced it would implement new age-verification technology following lawsuits and investigations involving the safety of its platform, according to the motion. Roblox shares fell 16% that day, from $133.74 to $113 per share, according to the filing.

On Jan. 30, 2026, Roblox disclosed it was under investigation by the European Union after a Dutch regulator opened a probe into whether the company adequately protected minors on its platform, the motion states. Shares fell another 13%, from $75.73 to $65.76, according to the filing.

The plaintiffs say the most significant disclosure came April 30, 2026, when Roblox reported its first-quarter financial results.

Roblox reduced its 2026 bookings guidance by about $1 billion, according to the motion. The filing says the company attributed the reduction in part to the global rollout of age-verification technology, which had significantly reduced user acquisition and engagement.

The company also reported that daily active-user growth had declined by half and that fewer users were communicating on the platform, according to the motion.

About 51% of Roblox’s daily active users had not completed the required age check at the time, according to the filing. Those users could not access the platform’s chat functions, which plaintiffs allege contributed to lower engagement, reduced app store ratings and fewer organic sign-ups.

Roblox shares fell more than 18% from $55.26 on April 30 to $45.13 on May 1, according to the motion.

The Ohio funds are seeking to consolidate two related securities class-action lawsuits pending in federal court in Northern California. The cases involve similar allegations about Roblox’s safety initiatives, expected growth and financial outlook.

The second lawsuit was filed by the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit. The motion says the Detroit case was related to the Ohio case on Aug. 4.

The Ohio funds are asking the court to appoint them as lead plaintiffs and approve their selection of G&E as lead counsel.

The motion says Ohio STRS purchased 280,004 Roblox shares and Ohio PERS purchased 144,347 shares during the relevant period. The funds calculated combined LIFO losses of $21,527,849, including $18,350,247 for STRS and $3,177,602 for PERS.

The lawsuit names Roblox executives David Baszucki, Naveen Chopra and Michael Guthrie as defendants.

The allegations have not been proven in court. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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