Roblox Child Exploitation Lawsuit MDL Centralized in Northern California

The number of Roblox lawsuits has more than doubled since the request was filed in September 2025, seeking to consolidate the claims before one judge as part of a federal MDL (multidistrict litigation).

A panel of federal judges has determined that all Roblox lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system involving allegations that the platform facilitated child sexual exploitation and assaults, should be consolidated as part of a new multidistrict litigation (MDL), where a single judge in the Northern District of California will oversee coordinated pretrial proceedings.

Roblox is an online gaming platform that allows users to build custom games, interact with other players, communicate through chat features, and explore virtual worlds created by other users. The platform has grown to include hundreds of millions of regular users worldwide, and it is heavily used by children and teenagers.

However, as Roblox has grown in popularity, families and child safety advocates have raised concerns that the platform’s chat features and moderation systems have been exploited by sexual predators seeking to target and groom minors.

According to a growing number of Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuits filed to date, predators commonly use Roblox to initiate contact with children, posing as other minors to gain their trust. After establishing relationships through the platform, plaintiffs allege the predators often persuaded children to continue communicating on other platforms, such as Discord, Snapchat or Instagram, or through texting and video calls, where sexual exploitation escalated.

As a result of the platforms’ failure to address the known problem with sexual predators, nearly 80 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts nationwide by minors and parents, alleging that Roblox should be held responsible for not protecting children from known risks of sexual exploitation. In some cases, the claims also name Discord, Snap Inc. or Meta Platforms, alleging that those platforms played a role in facilitating continued contact between predators and victims.

In September, one of the plaintiffs, identified with the pseudoname Jane Doe, filed a motion to establish a Roblox lawsuit MDL, asking the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to centralize all child sexual exploitation claims before one judge for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

At the time of the request, the motion indicated there were 32 Roblox child exploitation lawsuits filed in 12 district courts before 25 different judges, with additional cases expected to be filed. Plaintiffs argued that consolidation would prevent inconsistent rulings, reduce duplicative discovery and promote efficiency, given that the lawsuits raise overlapping factual and legal questions.

After reviewing written submissions from the parties, the JPML scheduled oral arguments on the request for centralization (PDF), which were held on December 4 at the U.S. Courthouse in Austin, Texas.

During the hearing, plaintiffs urged the panel to consolidate the cases, while defendants Roblox Corporation, Discord Inc., Snap Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. opposed the creation of a multidistrict litigation.

In opposing centralization, the defendants argued that many of the lawsuits would ultimately be subject to individual arbitration agreements, which they said would require case-by-case rulings rather than coordinated handling. They pointed to the fact that their arbitration terms have changed over time and argued that whether a claim could proceed in court would depend on when the alleged misconduct occurred and how each user agreed to the terms of service.

Despite opposing consolidation, the defendants agreed that if the JPML ordered centralization, the Northern District of California would be the appropriate venue.

Roblox Lawsuits Centralized in Northern California

Following the hearing, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a transfer order (PDF) on December 12, granting the request for centralization and creating Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation, MDL No. 3166, in the Northern District of California.

In its order, the JPML emphasized that the litigation has rapidly grown since the petition filed in September, and now includes nearly 80 actions and potential tag-along cases pending across 18 federal districts, spread before dozens of judges nationwide. The panel also noted that at least 15 different plaintiffs’ law firms are currently involved, and that additional lawsuits are expected to be filed.

With the cases multiplying across courts nationwide, the JPML concluded that placing the litigation before a single judge was the most practical way to manage the claims and avoid inconsistent rulings and repetitive discovery. The panel also rejected the argument that potential arbitration issues made centralization inappropriate, finding that a single court could still handle overlapping arbitration defenses more efficiently than dozens of courts addressing the same issues separately.

The JPML found that the lawsuits are driven by the same core factual questions, including:

• What Roblox knew about predators using its platform to target and groom minors
• Whether Roblox made false or misleading representations that its platform was safe for children
• Whether the company had the ability to implement effective parental controls, age verification or identity verification measures
• Whether adequate warnings were provided about the risks of sexual exploitation associated with minors using the platform

The JPML also noted that cases involving additional defendants, such as Discord, Snap Inc. or Meta Platforms, raise similar factual questions regarding those platforms’ roles in facilitating communications between predators and minors.

The litigation has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, who already presides over several of the pending cases. The Northern District of California was selected because a majority of the lawsuits were already pending there and because Roblox, along with several other defendants, is headquartered in or near the district.

What Happens Next in the Roblox MDL

Now that the Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuits have been centralized, the cases will move forward together through coordinated pretrial proceedings before Judge Seeborg in the Northern District of California.

As is typical in large multidistrict litigations, the judge is expected to work with the parties to begin preparing a series of bellwether cases, which are representative lawsuits intended to move forward first. These early test cases allow both sides to present evidence and expert testimony that is likely to be repeated across many of the claims, providing insight into how juries may respond to the allegations and defenses.

The outcomes of these bellwether proceedings often play a key role in shaping the future of an MDL. Favorable or unfavorable jury reactions can influence whether defendants seek to negotiate a broader resolution of the litigation, including the possibility of a global Roblox child exploitation settlement, which could resolve large numbers of claims at once.

If no settlement is reached through the MDL process, the remaining lawsuits would not be decided as a group. Instead, they would be sent back, or remanded, to the federal courts where they were originally filed, to proceed as individual trials before local judges.

New Roblox Lawsuits Being Investigated

While the MDL moves forward, Roblox lawyers are continuing to investigate and pursue new claims on behalf of victims and families who allege children were sexually exploited or assaulted after being targeted through the Roblox platform.

Under federal MDL rules, additional cases raising similar allegations may still be filed and later transferred into the centralized proceedings as “tag-along” actions. As a result, the number of lawsuits included in the Roblox MDL is expected to grow as more families come forward.

Families may qualify for a Roblox lawsuit if a child 17 or younger met an abuser on the platform and experienced one of the following:

• Attempted suicide or death by suicide linked to abuse
• In-person sexual abuse or attempted abuse
• Sextortion or pressured sharing of sexual images
• Sending or receiving explicit images tied to grooming