Roblox and Discord Lawsuit: MDL, State AG Cases, and Settlement

The Roblox and Discord lawsuits are a growing set of federal, state, and private claims alleging that both platforms were designed in ways that let adult predators identify, contact, and sexually exploit children, and that both companies misled parents about how safe their services really were. As of mid-2026, more than 160 individual cases sit in a federal multidistrict litigation in California, and at least seven state or county actions have been filed under consumer protection statutes. One state, Nevada, has already settled for more than $12 million and a package of safety reforms.1CNET. Roblox Settlement: Nevada $12 Million Payout Lawsuit Child Safety

What the Lawsuits Allege

The complaints share a common story. A child creates a Roblox account, plays popular games like “Brookhaven” or “Just Dance,” and is contacted by an adult using an anonymous avatar and a self-reported age. The adult then moves the conversation to Discord, where private servers and direct messages are harder for parents or moderators to see. Grooming escalates there, sometimes ending in the sharing of explicit images, sometimes in an in-person meeting.2Anapol Weiss. Anapol Weiss Files New Cases in Roblox MDL

Plaintiffs argue this pattern is not an accident but a product of specific design choices: open chat aimed at children, avatars that hide adult identities, age gates that rely on nothing more than a typed birthdate, and default privacy settings that allow strangers to make contact. Alexandra Walsh, appointed Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in the federal MDL, has said the danger is “engineered directly into the product.”2Anapol Weiss. Anapol Weiss Files New Cases in Roblox MDL

Two more specific allegations appear across many of the cases. First, that Roblox’s virtual currency, Robux, gave predators a ready lure — offering in-game money in exchange for photos — while Roblox itself collected a transaction fee.3FOX59. Indiana AG Sues Roblox, Discord Over Child Safety Second, that the platform hosted sexually explicit user-created experiences, known as “condo games,” alongside titles with names like “Escape to Epstein Island” and “Survive Diddy” cited in Louisiana’s complaint.4WAFB. Attorney General Files Child Protection Lawsuit Against Roblox

Discord’s Role

Discord is named alongside Roblox in the federal MDL and in many private suits, and it also faces its own separate actions. The New Jersey Attorney General sued Discord in April 2025 under the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, focusing on the platform’s “Safe Direct Messaging” setting, which the state said scanned messages only from users outside a person’s friend list while implying broader protection.5New Jersey Attorney General. AG Platkin Sues Messaging App Discord Texas has filed a similar case under its Deceptive Trade Practices Act, accusing Discord of burying safety features and relying on unpaid volunteer moderators.6Texas Policy Research. Texas Sues Discord Over Child Safety and Online Predator Allegations Default settings that allow friend requests from anyone, and direct messages from anyone sharing a server, are repeatedly cited as facilitating unsupervised adult-to-child contact.

The Federal MDL in California

In December 2025, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated dozens of individual suits into In re: Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation, MDL No. 3166, before Chief Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California. At consolidation, the panel identified 31 pending actions and 48 potential tag-alongs across 12 federal districts.7Levin Law. Roblox Cases Centralized in MDL Named defendants include Roblox Corporation, Discord Inc., Snap Inc., and Meta Platforms, Inc., though the litigation centers on Roblox.8U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. MDL-3166 Transfer Order

The docket has grown fast. It reached 132 cases in March 2026 and 162 by early June.9ConsumerNotice.org. Roblox Lawsuit Alexandra Walsh of Anapol Weiss was appointed Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in February 2026.10Anapol Weiss. Alexandra Walsh Appointed to Leadership Role in Federal Roblox Litigation

The State Attorney General Cases

Alongside the private MDL, a wave of state and county officials have brought their own enforcement actions, generally under consumer protection or deceptive trade practices statutes. Each is a separate case with its own theory of harm and remedy:

Roblox is also under investigation in Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, where AG James Uthmeier issued criminal subpoenas regarding the company’s child safety protocols.17The Hill. Roblox Underage Safety Concerns

The Cases Behind the Numbers

The lawsuits are grounded in specific incidents. In October 2025, a Charleston County, South Carolina family sued Roblox and Discord on behalf of an 11-year-old girl, alleging in a 106-page complaint that an adult used Roblox’s in-game chat to groom her before moving to Discord, where she was coerced into sharing explicit material.18ABC News 4. Lawsuit Claims Roblox, Discord Enabled Sexual Exploitation of Charleston Girl

A Miami-Dade County suit alleges that 19-year-old Anthony Borgesano groomed an 11-year-old girl on Roblox, moved the conversation to Discord, then met her in Sebring, Florida, and sexually assaulted her. Borgesano pleaded no contest to lewd molestation of a child and is serving a 25-year prison sentence.19NBC Miami. Miami-Dade Lawsuit: Roblox, Discord Online Safety

The most prominent individual case involves 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee of Fishers, Indiana, who was found dead in Wayne National Forest in Ohio in February 2026. A 39-year-old man, Tyler Thomas, told police he met Buzbee through Discord and played Roblox with her, and led investigators to her remains. He was federally charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and traveling across state lines with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct; as of mid-2026 he had not been charged in her death.20NBC4i. Hailey Buzbee’s Death Prompts Lawsuit Against Roblox and Discord The case became the anchor for Indiana’s state enforcement action.

The Arbitration Fight

The threshold question in the MDL is whether these cases stay in court at all. Roblox has moved to compel arbitration under its terms of use, and Discord has taken the same approach. Several judges have blocked those attempts, and both companies are appealing. In February 2026, hundreds of parents signed a letter to the Roblox board urging the company to stop forcing sexual abuse victims into arbitration. Meta and Snap, by contrast, have chosen not to enforce their arbitration clauses in similar predator cases.21The Indiana Lawyer. Roblox Wants Deluge of Child Sex Abuse Cases Moved Out of Court Legal observers do not expect the arbitration question to be resolved before the end of 2026.

Section 230 and the Design-vs-Content Question

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields internet platforms from liability for content posted by users, and Roblox has invoked it in its defense; the other defendants are expected to follow.22Game Developer. Are Roblox and Discord Protected From Civil Liability Under Section 230 Federal courts have historically been receptive to Section 230 defenses, including in cases involving allegations that platforms aided and abetted sexual abuse.

Plaintiffs are trying to route around that history by framing their claims as attacks on platform design and business practices rather than on user-generated content.23MDL Update. MDL-3166 Roblox Child Safety There are signs that courts are receptive. In a separate Roblox case involving allegations that the platform facilitated gambling for children, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria denied Roblox’s motion to dismiss on Section 230 grounds, writing that “the fact that the casino is 3rd party content does not remove liability.”24Courthouse News Service. Rachelle Colvin et al v. Roblox Corporation et al Ruling

The Nevada Settlement

The MDL has not produced a settlement yet, but Nevada’s April 2026 deal with Roblox is the clearest signal of what regulators are seeking. Announced by AG Aaron Ford, it requires Roblox to pay more than $12 million and implement a set of safety reforms:1CNET. Roblox Settlement: Nevada $12 Million Payout Lawsuit Child Safety

  • $10 million over three years to encourage children to engage in non-digital activities.
  • $1 million over two years for an online safety education campaign aimed at minors and adults.
  • $1.5 million to create a law enforcement liaison position working with state agencies on platform safety.
  • Facial age estimation technology and government-issued ID for age assurance, plus behavioral monitoring to catch accounts with incorrect ages.
  • Default protections that block predators from engaging with children and ensure messages involving minors are not encrypted.

What Roblox and Discord Say They’re Doing

Both companies deny wrongdoing and point to safety investments. Roblox rolled out mandatory facial age estimation globally in January 2026, using third-party vendor Persona to sort users into age brackets (Under 9, 9–12, 13–15, 16–17, 18–20, and 21+) and restricting communication between minors and adults by default. The company says images are deleted immediately after processing.25Roblox. Roblox Age Checks Required to Chat Users and privacy advocates have criticized the system for misclassifying ages and for requiring facial data, and some have pointed out that age-verified accounts are available for sale on third-party sites, offering a workaround for predators.26Roblox Developer Forum. Age Check to Chat Update: Fast Follow Roadmap

Roblox has also introduced “Roblox Kids” accounts for preteens with no communication features and “Roblox Select” accounts for teenagers with age-appropriate protections, and says it made more than 100 safety enhancements in 2025.17The Hill. Roblox Underage Safety Concerns Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman has described a “multilayered safety system” combining AI detection, human moderation, and reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.20NBC4i. Hailey Buzbee’s Death Prompts Lawsuit Against Roblox and Discord

Discord cites its “Teen Safety Assist” tool, its “Family Center” for parental monitoring, and the fact that the platform does not use an algorithmic feed to push content. Attorneys general and plaintiffs have called those measures insufficient, arguing safety features remain buried, optional, and hard for parents to configure.16WISH-TV. Indiana Lawsuit: Roblox, Discord

What Happens Next

Two things will shape the next stretch of this litigation. First, the outcome of the arbitration appeals: if Roblox and Discord succeed, most of the private cases move out of the public courtroom. Second, the Section 230 rulings on the plaintiffs’ design-based theories, which will decide whether platforms can be held liable for how they built their products rather than only for what users posted.

Federal legislation could change the ground under all of it. The Kids Online Safety Act, introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn, would create a duty of care requiring platforms to prevent and mitigate specific harms to minors, focused on design choices rather than content, and does not amend Section 230.27Senator Blumenthal. Kids Online Safety Act The STOP CSAM Act and EARN IT Act would narrow Section 230 immunity for child exploitation claims. None had been enacted as of mid-2026.28Tech Policy Press. Backgrounder: Senate Judiciary Committee Child Safety For now, the cases proceed under existing state consumer protection statutes and common-law negligence, and their fate depends on whether courts accept that platform design, not just user content, can create liability.