Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuit

The docket record

Full docket title: IN RE: Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation. Programmatic record page: MDL 3166.

Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuit update — September 2026

What changed this month: in the September 1, 2026 report, MDL 3166 rose from 177 to 182 pending actions (+5). Figures come from the Judicial Panel's own monthly report and are restated here each month.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized these cases into MDL No. 3166, "IN RE: Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation," before Chief Judge Richard Seeborg in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in a transfer order dated December 12, 2025. The master docket is 3:25-md-03166-RS. The Panel found the actions "involve common questions of fact and that centralization in the Northern District of California will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation," and chose that district because Roblox, Discord and Meta are headquartered there and Snap is headquartered nearby. The order centralized 31 actions then pending in 12 districts and identified 48 related tag-along actions. As of the JPML's September 1, 2026 report, 182 actions are pending, with 187 filed into the docket in total. A stipulated case management order entered in February 2026 permits eligible plaintiffs to file directly into the MDL rather than in their home district. Roblox, Discord, Snap and Meta all opposed centralization. The transfer order notes that the defendants are expected to raise defenses under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the First Amendment, superseding cause, and arbitration agreements, but the Panel did not decide any of them. Separately from this MDL, several state attorneys general have sued Roblox under state consumer-protection laws; Roblox's own quarterly report filed with the SEC for the period ended March 31, 2026 discloses settlement agreements with Alabama, Nevada and West Virginia reached in April 2026, and an accrual of $57 million for state settlements and settlement discussions in the aggregate. That figure covers payments to state governments in the consumer-protection track. It is not a fund for individual claimants, no per-state or per-person amounts were disclosed, and no settlement of this MDL has been announced.

Sources: Transfer Order, MDL No. 3166 — IN RE: Roblox Corporation … · Order Denying Transfer, MDL No. 3166 (scope limited to se… · MDL Statistics Report — Distribution of Pending MDL Docke… · Roblox Corporation Form 10-Q for the quarterly period end…; full list at the end of this page.

What the lawsuits are about

Roblox is an online platform where users, many of them children, create and play games built by other users. Players build avatars and communicate through in-game chat and social features. The lawsuits in this MDL allege that adult predators used those features to identify and contact children on the platform, build a relationship with them, and then move the conversation to another service — Discord, Snapchat, Instagram, texting, or video calling — where the alleged exploitation continued or escalated.

The plaintiffs are minors, and parents or guardians suing on their behalf. According to the Panel's transfer order, they assert claims for fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, negligence, failure to warn, and design defect. The disputed questions the Panel identified as common across the cases are what Roblox knew about predators using its platform to target and groom children; whether Roblox made false representations that the platform is safe for children; whether Roblox had the technical means to implement effective parental controls and age or identity verification; and whether Roblox adequately warned users of the risk of exploitation.

Roblox and the other defendants dispute the allegations. They opposed the creation of the MDL, though they agreed that the Northern District of California was the appropriate venue if one were created. No court has made a finding of liability against any defendant in this litigation, and the defenses the Panel flagged — including Section 230, the First Amendment and arbitration — remain undecided.

This MDL is separate from MDL No. 3047, the social media adolescent addiction litigation before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the same district, which concerns allegedly addictive platform design rather than sexual exploitation. In an order dated June 3, 2026 the Panel declined to transfer a case alleging grooming for violence rather than sexual exploitation into either MDL, confirming that MDL 3166's scope is limited to sexual exploitation and assault claims.

Injuries named in the filings

• Sexual exploitation of a minor by an adult who initiated contact through the Roblox platform
• Sexual assault of a minor, in cases where the alleged contact moved offline
• Psychological and emotional harm alleged to flow from the exploitation or assault

Principal defendants: Roblox Corporation; Discord Inc.; Snap Inc.; Meta Platforms, Inc..

Sources: Transfer Order, MDL No. 3166 — IN RE: Roblox Corporation … · Order Denying Transfer, MDL No. 3166 (scope limited to se… · MDL Statistics Report — Distribution of Pending MDL Docke… · Roblox Corporation Form 10-Q for the quarterly period end…; full list at the end of this page.

Who the filings say qualifies

The criteria below are drawn from the Judicial Panel's December 12, 2025 transfer order, which is the document defining what this MDL covers. No master complaint or court-approved plaintiff fact sheet for MDL 3166 was publicly available when this page was last checked, so there is no published age range or date cutoff for the underlying conduct, and this page does not state one. The Panel described the case pool by what happened rather than by fixed parameters. Whether any individual claim belongs in this MDL is a question for a lawyer and ultimately for the court.

• The person harmed was a minor at the time of the alleged conduct; claims are brought by the minor, or by a parent or guardian on their behalf
• The alleged contact with the adult began through interaction on the Roblox platform, such as in-game chat or its social features
• The claim alleges sexual exploitation, and in some cases sexual assault, rather than another kind of harm — the Panel excluded a case alleging grooming for violence from this MDL
• In a subset of cases, the alleged grooming or exploitation continued on a second platform (Discord, Snapchat, or Instagram) or by texting or video calling, and those cases may also name that platform's operator

Source: JPML Transfer Order, MDL No. 3166 (December 12, 2025).

These are the criteria in the public record, not a promise about any individual case. A law firm evaluates each case on its own facts, and limitations periods vary by state.

Key dates

1. November 6, 2025The State of Texas files a consumer-protection suit against Roblox Corporation, one of several state attorney general actions separate from this MDL. source
2. December 12, 2025The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation creates MDL No. 3166 and centralizes 31 actions before Chief Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California. source
3. February 9, 2026A stipulated case management order permits eligible plaintiffs to file directly into the MDL rather than filing in their home district and waiting for transfer. source
4. March 6, 2026A Texas state court grants in part and denies in part Roblox's motion to dismiss the Texas attorney general's suit, dismissing the common-nuisance claim and allowing the Deceptive Trade Practices Act claim to proceed. source
5. April 30, 2026Roblox discloses in its SEC quarterly report that Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Texas and Tennessee have filed suit, and that it reached settlement agreements with Alabama, Nevada and West Virginia in April 2026 in the state consumer-protection track. source
6. June 3, 2026The Panel declines to transfer a case alleging grooming for violence into MDL 3166 or MDL 3047, confirming that MDL 3166 is limited to sexual exploitation and assault claims. source
7. September 1, 2026The JPML's monthly report lists 182 actions pending in MDL 3166, with 187 filed into the docket in total. source

Questions people ask

Sources: Transfer Order, MDL No. 3166 — IN RE: Roblox Corporation … · Order Denying Transfer, MDL No. 3166 (scope limited to se… · MDL Statistics Report — Distribution of Pending MDL Docke… · Roblox Corporation Form 10-Q for the quarterly period end…; full list at the end of this page.

Track this docket

We re-read the JPML report on the first business day of each month. Get an email when this record changes: case count, status, or a settlement development.

Sources

1. U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, “Pending MDL Dockets by Actions Pending,” monthly reports January 5, 2026 to September 1, 2026. Transferee court: Northern District of California, Richard Seeborg.
2. Transfer Order, MDL No. 3166 — IN RE: Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Accessed September 8, 2026.
3. Order Denying Transfer, MDL No. 3166 (scope limited to sexual exploitation and assault claims), U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Accessed September 8, 2026.
4. MDL Statistics Report — Distribution of Pending MDL Dockets by Actions Pending, September 1, 2026, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Accessed September 8, 2026.
5. Roblox Corporation Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2026 — Note 8, Commitments and Contingencies, Legal Proceedings, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accessed September 8, 2026.

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