In a recent class action lawsuit filed in Illinois,
Roblox—along with gaming giants like Nintendo, Blizzard,
Rockstar, and Sony—was accused of intentionally designing
games to be addictive, leading to what the plaintiff described as
"internet gaming disorder."
The legal strategy borrowed the approach used in the tobacco
litigation, aiming to hold companies accountable for addictive
designs.
If successful, it could have opened the floodgates to a wave of
lawsuits against the gaming industry.
Roblox responded by moving to dismiss the case, citing Section 230
of the Communications Decency Act and First Amendment
protections.
Last week, the court agreed, granting Roblox's motion to
dismiss.
The court found that:
➡️ Roblox's own content, including its game
creation tools, is protected expression under the First
Amendment.
➡️Under Section 230, Roblox is not liable for content
created by its users.
So, at least for now, Roblox isn't legally responsible for your
Roblox addiction.
My guess is that it may take another opinion or two like this
before plaintiffs' lawyers move on to another target.
Angelilli v. Activision Blizzard, Inc., et al., 2025 WL 1181000 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 23, 2025)
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