Roblox sued for allegedly enabling young girl’s sexual, financial exploitation

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/10/roblox-sued-for-allegedly-enabling-young-girls-sexual-financial-exploitation/

by Syonyk • 4 years ago

40 43 4 years ago

arstechnica.com

Syonyk• 4 years ago

"Engagement and growth at all costs!" in fine form here. Lots of social media activity, lots of accounts created!

And while at some point, parents need to be aware of what's going on, some of the apps certainly seem to go out of their way to make it impossible - I was not aware of SnapChat's My Eyes Only folder, but I'm not surprised given that the app is for ephemeral photo messaging and has payments built in. The obvious uses there are obvious.

rrwo3• 4 years ago

It alleges that, in 2020, Roblox connected a young girl called S.U. with adult men who abused her for months, manipulating her into sending payments using Roblox currency called Robux and inducing her to share explicit photos on Discord and Snapchat through 2021. As the girl grew increasingly anxious and depressed, the lawsuit alleges that Instagram began recommending self-harm content, and ultimately, S.U. had to withdraw from school after multiple suicide attempts.

This reads like the synopsis of a Philip K Dick story.

nalaz• 4 years ago

Where were the parents in that story?

devwastaken• 4 years ago

The case likely doesn't have legal merit. If we could get money damages for actions of others through online platforms there'd be easy money to be made. A reasonable person would also not try to sue companies for this.

Given those two together, it's not difficult to infer.

tsol• 4 years ago

Something something pandemic means kids aren't seeing their friends so they need social media to fit in. This is what I usually hear. I know people say to just parent your kids, but the right choice isn't always obvious

fdewrewrewf• 4 years ago

Her parents were probably just like the many "happy", middle-class families with kids I know - "it's so hard to be the only kid without a smartphone, and since the pandemic, it helps her keep in touch with her friends. And the school has an app now, and there are so many educational games!".

GD I hate what "tech" has done to us.

rrwo3• 4 years ago

Parents cannot and should not be watching their teenaged children 24/7, and if they tried, the children would find ways to hide things from their parents.

Most people find the parents that deny their children any privacy as abusive.

It's healthy for children to have time away from their parents, so they can learn and practice being adults.

The vast majority of teenagers have managed to do this without becoming pregnant, alcoholics, drug addicts, or join violent street gangs. (And some that do still manage to sort their lives out when they get older.)

What's changed in recent years are unregulated, algorithm-driven social media

- that guess people's moods to get them addicted to content and purchase products, including harmful products;

- that pushes content full of misinformation, conspiracy theories and violent extreme politics;

- allows random adults on the other side of the world to reach out to children for exploitation (sexual or financial) or recruitment for violent political causes;

- 24-hour interaction, so there's no break from the drama or abuse of school when you leave school for the day or weekend;

Supposed child-friendly platforms like YouTube Kids or Roblox are attractive places for people who want to exploit children. The profit motive encourages companies to take a hands-off approach, and the scale of users and content means that it's difficult to control.

Gortal278• 4 years ago

Why isn't snap and/or discord bring sued?

chriswitts• 4 years ago

They are. It is stated in the subheading, as well as the article.

frankharv• 4 years ago

Obviously the parents have no responsibility at all.....

How about kids don't use devices unattended.

lotsofpulp2• 4 years ago

The kid in the story is 10 to 13 years old. At what age would a kid be able to use a device unattended (presumably meaning one that access the internet and allows for communications)?

Not to mention the infeasibility if the kid is allowed to hang out with other kids without adults present.

brianwawok4• 4 years ago

I’m not sure but currently planning 16 or 18.

The internet is a terrible place.

bergenty• 4 years ago

After 18. Before that you get a device that can make calls and has a GPS.

remram• 4 years ago

The app has been rated PEGI 7+. The fault doesn't lie solely on the parents there.

scintill76• 4 years ago

program reassured them, stating that it was safe and that the kids were constantly monitored.
S.U. was admitted into an in-hospital treatment program, where the lawsuit says she was sexually assaulted by another resident

Oof. IANAL, but I think they’ll have better chances suing the hospital than social media platforms.

pull_my_finger• 4 years ago

Some interesting related investigation (I think they mention this girl in the second video) related to roblox is anyone is interested. I had never used it, but after seeing these I don't think I would ever use it or encourage anyone to use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMF6xEiAaY

archixe• 4 years ago

As someone who knows nothing about roblox these videos were very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

moomin• 4 years ago

It’s a serious problem. No-one wants to constantly monitor their kid, even to make sure they’re safe, but Roblox is like a playground full of unaccompanied adults.

fxtentacle• 4 years ago

In my opinion, the issue here is the iPad.

When I started using computers, it was a tower with a proper screen and no camera no microphone. That meant the risk of apps spying on me was low and my parents could see everything on-screen to make sure bad stuff doesn't happen.

But giving the kid an iPad means apps know that there's a camera and a microphone available. And it means typically nobody else sees what's on your screen. And it makes it easy to bring "the internet" into your bedroom.

Using social media always means giving up privacy. So I feel like it's not unreasonable for parents to require it as a prerequisite for a minor to interact online. And that means the device needs to have a screen which is easily visible to parents at most/all times.

IXxXI• 4 years ago

If parents cannot monitor children 24/7.

Roblox and internet platforms should not be expected to either.

everforward• 4 years ago

This isn't the first time this has happened in "children's" communities.

Is there some way to prove a person is under 18? We can prove that someone is over 18 via ID's or using credit cards as a proxy, but is there a way to keep adults out and let children in?

Roblox seems like a space that could potentially be limited to children. I've never met an adult with an interest (anecdata, perhaps it doesn't generalize).

Roblox sued for allegedly enabling young girl’s sexual, financial exploitation

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