INDIANAPOLIS -- Attorney General Todd Rokita is filing lawsuit against Roblox Corp. and Discord Inc. in response to several alleged cases of Indiana children being targeted on the platforms.

In a press release from Rokita, he claims Roblox, the maker of an online gaming platform, and Discord, the maker of a messaging app, failed to sufficiently protect its young users from online predators.

Rokita goes on to say the lawsuit seeks to prevent further harm on Roblox and Discord through securing injunctive relief and further seeks the disgorgement of money and benefits gained through the alleged unlawful conduct.

The lawsuit also looks for civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation and reimbursement of Rokita's investigative costs.

Within the press release, Rokita cited the case of Hailey Buzbee, a 17-year-old who was allegedly lured away from her home in January after a man interacted with her over Roblox and Discord "for months before her disappearance and death", claiming similar cases have taken place across Indiana and the wider United States through the platforms.

Matt Kaufman, Roblox Chief Safety Officer, released the following statement in response to Rokita's lawsuit:

“We share Attorney General Rokita’s commitment to helping keep children safe online. Roblox has built a multilayered safety system that includes pioneering, industry-leading safeguards to help protect our users. You cannot exchange images or videos in chat, and we deploy a combination of advanced AI-powered detection, human moderation and rigorous filters designed to prevent the exchange of personal information. To help ensure the efficacy of these tools, we do not encrypt communications.

As part of our ongoing work to strengthen user protections, earlier this year we completed the global rollout of mandatory Facial Age Estimation, making Roblox the first online gaming platform to require age checks for all users to access chat features. This technology will also be used in the launch of our new age-based accounts for younger users to more closely align content access, chat settings and parental controls with a user’s age.

When we identify violations of our rules we take swift action and work closely with law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable. While no system can be perfect, we are constantly enhancing our safeguards, and we look forward to working constructively with the Attorney General’s office to help keep kids safe online.”