A new lawsuit in Kentucky against online gaming platform and messaging application Roblox and Discord is being influenced by Florida’s Attorney General, who filed civil and criminal complaints against the companies.
Anapol Weiss[1] law firm, with offices in more than half a dozen locations in the U.S., filed the lawsuit[2] Monday against Roblox and Discord in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Kentucky on behalf of Audree Heine’s estate. She was a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide in 2024, and the suit is filed by the plaintiff, Jaimee Seitz, the girl’s mother.
“Audree’s death was the direct result of defendants’ unlawful conduct,” the wording of the legal brief states.
A press release by the law firm alleges Heine endured “months of manipulation and extremist grooming on the gaming platform and the messaging app Discord” to the point where she “was pushed to suicide.”
The Kentucky lawsuit follows James Uthmeier, the Attorney General in the Sunshine State, who filed a civil action against Roblox and Discord earlier this year. He then filed a criminal investigation[3] this week.
“Our initial inquiry, as well as arrests and convictions across the state, have shown that Roblox is a breeding ground for child predators to get on the platform, solicit information, locations, and ultimately abuse kids,” Uthmeier said on “Fox & Friends First[4].”
In April, the Attorney General’s Office[5] subpoenaed the online gaming platform widely used by children, seeking information on marketing practices, age-verification requirements, and how chat rooms are moderated.
The Kentucky lawsuit is now the 12th civil lawsuit filed against the platforms. The latest litigation argues that Roblox was negligent in providing any moderation or age verification, even though the company has assured users that children are safe when using the platform.
“This is not about a minor lapse in safety; it’s about a company that gives pedophiles powerful tools to prey on innocent and unsuspecting kids,” said Alexandra Walsh[6], Partner at Anapol Weiss. “The trauma that results is horrific, from grooming to exploitation to actual assault. In this case, a child lost her life. This needs to stop.”
Roblox claimed earlier this month that it had made safety improvements[7] in light of concerns raised by Uthmeier and other Florida state-level legal officials.
They have worked to remove access to unrated content, expanded voice moderation into new languages, pulled what is called “inappropriate legacy content,” and “engaged our community.”
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Florida Politics writer A.G. Gancarski contributed to this report.
References
- ^ Anapol Weiss (www.anapolweiss.com)
- ^ the lawsuit (www.anapolweiss.com)
- ^ criminal investigation (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Fox & Friends First (www.foxnews.com)
- ^ Attorney General’s Office (www.myfloridalegal.com)
- ^ Alexandra Walsh (www.anapolweiss.com)
- ^ safety improvements (corp.roblox.com)