OPINION — A California jury will decide whether social media companies are responsible for the harm their platforms cause millions of children. The landmark case underscores a deeper truth: America’s child-safety laws have not kept up with the digital spaces where kids now spend so much of their lives. Platforms like Roblox show just how wide that gap has become.
Recent lawsuits from Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas — and a criminal probe in Florida — accuse the popular gaming platform of failing to protect children from grooming and explicit content.
Roblox isn’t an outlier. It’s a symptom of a system that reacts only after children are harmed. Each time a new platform explodes in popularity, predators find new ways to exploit it, and lawmakers play catch-up.
