Roblox website on a computer. Picture: Getty Images
The mother of a 15-year-old US boy who took his own life is suing Roblox and Discord over his death which has left the family devastated.
Rebecca Dallas filed the lawsuit on Friday in San Francisco County Superior Court.
Dallas accused Roblox and Discord of “recklessly and deceptively operating their business in a way that led to the sexual exploitation and suicide” of Ethan Dallas.
‘Bright boy’
According to the lawsuit, Ethan was a “bright, imaginative boy who loved gaming, streaming and interacting with friends online.
Ethan started playing on the online gaming platform Roblox around the age of 9, with his parents’ approval and with parental controls in place.
“When he was 12, he was targeted by “an adult sex predator” who posed as a child on Roblox and befriended Ethan, attorneys for Dallas said in a statement.
Dangers
What started out as an innocent conversation “gradually escalated to sexual topics and explicit exchanges,” NBC News reported.
After a while, the man encouraged Ethan to turn off parental controls and move their conversations to Discord, the lawyers said.
On Discord, the man “increasingly demanded explicit photographs and videos” and threatened Ethan that he’d post or share the images. Ethan complied out of fear, the complaint says.
“Tragically, Ethan was permanently harmed and haunted by these experiences, and he died by suicide at the age of 15,” the complaint said. He died in April 2024, according to an online obituary.
NOW READ: Google data shows South Africa is the world’s number two sports-obsessed nation
Wrongful death
The lawsuit accuses Roblox and Discord of wrongful death, fraudulent concealment and misrepresentations, negligent misrepresentation, and strict liability.
It argues that had Roblox and Discord taken steps to screen users before allowing them on apps, or implemented age and identity verification and other safety measures, “Ethan would have never interacted with this predator, never suffered he harm that he did, and never died by suicide.”
Lawsuits
According to the Lawsuit Information Centre, a growing number of families are filing lawsuits against Roblox after discovering their children were groomed, exploited, or exposed to explicit content through the platform.
Once promoted as a safe space for kids to create and play, Roblox is now at the center of a national legal reckoning. Multiple high-profile cases—including a federal Roblox lawsuit in Texas and an ongoing class action lawsuit against Roblox—allege the company failed to protect minors from foreseeable dangers.
Roblox
Roblox is used daily by 111 million people, according to its website, offering a variety of games, obstacle courses, and the ability to chat with other users. It is free to make an account and there is no age minimum, nor required age verification.
It is facing mounting criticism for exposing children to explicit content and online predators, the cracks in modern parental control systems are becoming harder to ignore.
Roblox acknowledges that children using the platform may be exposed to harmful content and “bad actors”.
The company said it is working hard to fix this, but that industry-wide collaboration and government intervention are needed.
NOW READ: Dell Tech Forum 2025 to showcase AI challenges and innovation
