Online Sexual Exploitation & Abuse Cases
Justice for Victims of Online Grooming, Sextortion & Platform Negligence
Roblox: 70M Daily Users, Thousands of Abuse Reports - Platforms Must Do More
Social media, gaming platforms, and dating apps have legal duties to protect users from predators. You may have a case.
A National Crisis of Online Sexual Exploitation
Recent Platform Failures & Major Cases
Roblox Lawsuits: Multiple lawsuits allege Roblox failed to protect 70+ million daily users (majority under 16) from predators using chat features to groom and exploit children
Instagram & Facebook (Meta): Lawsuits claim Meta's platforms facilitate grooming, with algorithms connecting predators to minors and inadequate content moderation
Discord Grooming Cases: Predators use private servers and direct messaging to groom minors, with platform's encryption making moderation difficult
Omegle Shutdown (2023): Anonymous video chat platform shut down after years of lawsuits alleging it facilitated child sexual abuse and exploitation
Snapchat Sextortion Epidemic: Predators use disappearing messages to coerce minors into sending explicit images, then blackmail for more content
TikTok & Minecraft: Additional platforms facing scrutiny for inadequate child safety measures and failure to prevent predatory behavior
Systemic Platform Negligence
Investigations reveal tech platforms prioritize user growth and engagement over child safety. Despite knowing about predatory activity, companies fail to implement industry-standard protections, ignore abuse reports, and allow dangerous features that facilitate grooming.
Types of Online Sexual Exploitation
Predators build trust with minors through flattery, gifts, emotional manipulation, and gradual normalization of sexual topics.
- Adults posing as peers to befriend minors
- Sending virtual gifts (Robux, skins, in-game items)
- Gradual progression to sexual conversations
- Moving to private platforms (Discord, Snapchat)
Predators coerce victims into sending explicit images, then threaten to share them unless demands are met.
- Threats to share images with family/friends
- Demands for money or additional explicit content
- Escalating threats and psychological manipulation
- Victims trapped in cycles of exploitation
Production and sharing of child sexual abuse material through online platforms.
- Solicitation of explicit photos/videos from minors
- Distribution through encrypted messaging apps
- Platform failure to detect and remove illegal content
- Trading rings operating through gaming platforms
Real-time sexual exploitation broadcasted via streaming platforms or video chat.
- Predators direct abuse during live video sessions
- Payment for live abuse performances
- Platforms profit from abusive content
- Inadequate age verification and monitoring
Adults create fake identities to deceive and manipulate minors into relationships or sharing content.
- Fake profiles using stolen photos of minors
- Romantic deception leading to exploitation
- Platform failure to verify identities
- Emotional manipulation and trust abuse
Online grooming progresses to physical sexual abuse when predators arrange in-person meetings.
- Predators arrange meetups after online grooming
- Platforms facilitate connection despite warnings
- Geolocation features enable predator stalking
- Trafficking and commercial exploitation
Emerging threat: AI technology used to create explicit images or videos of minors without their consent.
- Faces superimposed onto explicit content
- AI-generated CSAM from innocent photos
- Distribution for harassment or blackmail
- Platform failure to detect synthetic content
Harassment and assault in virtual reality environments and metaverse platforms causing real trauma.
- Avatar-based sexual assault in VR platforms
- Immersive harassment causing psychological harm
- Lack of safety features in virtual spaces
- Minors exposed to adult content in games
Critical: Preserve Evidence
Do NOT Delete Accounts or Messages
Your first instinct may be to delete everything to protect your child. However, this evidence is critical for both criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits against platforms. Take these steps first:
• All messages, chats, and conversations
• Include dates, times, and usernames in screenshots
• Capture profile information of abuser
• Save images/videos sent (but DON'T forward CSAM)
• Document friend lists and connections
• Username, display name, account URL
• Email address or phone linked to account
• IP addresses if available (check settings)
• Game history, chat logs, transaction records
• Any "gifts" received (virtual currency, items)
• Keep copies of any reports made to platform
• Screenshot confirmation emails or ticket numbers
• Document platform's response (or lack thereof)
• Save automated responses and follow-ups
• Note dates/times of all communications
• When did first contact occur?
• Progression of relationship over time
• When did content become sexual?
• Any in-person meetings or attempted meetings
• When you discovered the situation
Additional Important Evidence
- Medical/therapy records: Document psychological impact and treatment
- Police reports: File report with local police and obtain report number
- CyberTipline report: NCMEC report number serves as federal record
- School records: Behavioral changes, counselor notes, attendance issues
- Witness statements: Friends, family members who noticed changes
Legal Grounds for Platform Liability
Platforms can be held liable when their design features create unreasonable dangers for users, particularly children.
Dangerous Features: Private messaging without oversight, algorithms that connect strangers, disappearing messages that destroy evidence, lack of age verification, inadequate reporting systems.
Legal Theory: Platforms are products, and when their design facilitates foreseeable harm (child exploitation), they may be defective and unreasonably dangerous under product liability law.
Platforms have a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect users from foreseeable harm, especially when they market to children.
Negligent Design: Failure to implement industry-standard safety measures despite knowing about predatory activity.
Failure to Warn: Not adequately warning parents about serious risks of grooming, sextortion, and exploitation on their platforms.
Negligent Moderation: Inadequate content moderation and response to abuse reports despite having resources to do better.
While Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act generally protects platforms from liability for user-generated content, important exceptions exist.
FOSTA-SESTA (2018): Federal law creating exceptions to Section 230 for platforms that facilitate sex trafficking, including child sexual exploitation.
State Laws: Many states have passed laws allowing victims to sue platforms that knowingly facilitate child sexual abuse material or exploitation.
Product Liability Exception: Section 230 doesn't shield platforms from product liability claims based on defective design.
Federal and state laws impose specific duties on platforms to protect children from exploitation.
COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act): Requires platforms to obtain parental consent before collecting data from children under 13.
Mandatory Reporting: Federal law requires electronic service providers to report CSAM to NCMEC when they become aware of it.
State Child Protection Statutes: Many states have laws requiring platforms operating in their jurisdiction to implement specific safety measures for minors.
Potential Compensation & Justice
Hold platforms accountable and secure compensation for the harm caused
Economic Damages
Therapy costs, psychiatric treatment, medical expenses, lost educational opportunities, future counseling needs
Pain & Suffering
Emotional trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, loss of innocence, relationship difficulties, trust issues
Punitive Damages
When platforms knowingly failed to protect children or prioritized profits over safety, punitive damages punish reckless conduct
Settlement & Verdict Range:
$100,000 - $5,000,000+
Compensation depends on severity of exploitation, duration, psychological impact, and platform's knowledge of risks. Severe cases involving sextortion, CSAM, or in-person abuse often result in larger settlements.
Beyond Money: Systemic Change
Lawsuits against platforms also seek injunctive relief - court orders requiring platforms to improve safety measures:
- Implementation of better age verification systems
- Enhanced content moderation and abuse reporting
- Default privacy settings for minors
- Parental control tools that actually work
- Algorithm changes to stop connecting predators with children
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
Information based on investigative journalism, court filings, government reports, and child safety research:
Bloomberg Investigation - Roblox Pedophile Problem (2024)
Comprehensive investigation into predatory activity on Roblox platform and company's inadequate response.
Read Bloomberg InvestigationNational Center for Missing & Exploited Children - CyberTipline Data
Reports of online child sexual exploitation have increased dramatically, with millions of reports annually to CyberTipline.
NCMEC CyberTipline ResourcesBBC Investigation - Omegle Shutdown (2023)
Coverage of Omegle's shutdown after lawsuits from victims sexually exploited on anonymous chat platform.
BBC Report on Omegle ClosureFBI - Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
Federal resource for reporting internet crimes including sextortion and online child exploitation.
FBI IC3 PortalThorn - Technology to Defend Children from Sexual Abuse
Non-profit building technology to defend children from sexual abuse, with research on online exploitation trends.
Thorn.org ResourcesFOSTA-SESTA Legislation & Section 230 Exceptions
2018 federal legislation creating exceptions to Section 230 immunity for platforms that facilitate sex trafficking and child exploitation.
FOSTA-SESTA Legislative TextCommon Sense Media - Platform Safety Reviews
Independent reviews and ratings of social media platforms, gaming apps, and messaging services from child safety perspective.
Common Sense Media ReviewsWall Street Journal - Instagram & Facebook Child Safety Investigations
"The Facebook Files" series exposed Meta's internal research showing Instagram harms teens and facilitates exploitation.
WSJ Facebook FilesDisclaimer: This page provides educational information about online sexual exploitation and platform liability. Individual case outcomes vary based on specific facts, jurisdiction, applicable laws, and available evidence. Case values mentioned are examples and not guarantees. Consult with a qualified attorney for legal advice specific to your situation. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact 911 or local law enforcement.
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