Aug. 27, 2025

Louisiana Versus Roblox

Louisiana Versus Roblox
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Season 1

Jim Chapman Covers the Lawsuit Louisiana AG Liz Murrill has brought against the Roblox Corporation, alleging violations of state consumer protection law, and asserting claims of negligence, public nuisance, and unjust enrichment. The complaint alleges that Roblox, a popular online gaming service for children and teens, has failed to implement basic safety measures, endangering child safety by facilitating child exploitation and the distribution of child sexual abuse material. The complaint also alleges that Roblox failed to inform child users and their parents of the dangers of using the platform. 

Timestamps
04:54 Roblox's User Demographics
07:25 Age Verification Concerns
10:35 Chat Features and Safety
15:15 Inappropriate Content on Roblox
18:32 The Role of Law Enforcement
27:07 Lawsuit Implications and Child Safety
28:30 Proposed Safety Measures
36:40 Uncovering the Dangers of Roblox
40:59 Child Protection

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WEBVTT

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Hey everyone, and welcome back to Exposed Scandalous Files of

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the Elite. I'm your host, Jim Chapman, and today I'm

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going to bring you some really wild news out of

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my state of Louisiana. And if you are a parent,

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you are going to especially want to pay attention to this. So,

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the state of Louisiana has filed suit, in fact, the

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first state to file suit against the gaming app Roadblocks,

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and it's very disappointing what the State of Louisiana has uncovered.

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I would go as far as to say very disturbing

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what the State of Louisiana has uncovered. And as is

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typical with these types of cases, I like covering right

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from the lawsuit so as to make sure all the

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facts are covered and I'll make my opinions or otherwise

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as we go along. So here are the factual allegations

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as they read in that lawsuit. Launched in two thousand

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and six, Roadblocks is an interactive online gaming platform that

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creates a new category of human interactions. Users can play

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mirored games on Roadblocks, referred to as quote experiences. They

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are currently more than six point four million experiences within

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the Roadblocks ecosystem. Imagine that six point four million Roadblocks

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has complete control over the platform hosting the experiences, including

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but not limited to warnings associated with those experiences, age verification,

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age restrictions for each experience, policies and rules regarding inappropriate conduct,

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monitoring for inappropriate conduct, and handling and facilitating any reports

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of complaints by users. Roadblocks is easily accessible, including the

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children as young as six years old. It is free

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to download and play and is available on gaming consoles, computers, tablets,

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and cell devices. An account can easily be set up

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by a child in just a matter of minutes without

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a parent. Roadblocks is designed to be an interactive experience,

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allowing and encouraging users to communicate and interact with each

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other in real time gameplay interactions, User hubs, direct messaging,

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and voice chat all promote social interactions between and among users.

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Roadblocks co founder and CEO has explained that his vision

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for Roadblocks is to bring about quote the next phase

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of human interaction, which he described as a new category

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of human co experiences. Roadblocks explained that it operates a

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human co experience platform where users interact with each other

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to explore and develop immersive user generated three B experiences

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blocks designed for young children. Roadblocks is not only the

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number one gaming site for kids and teens, but also

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an educational experience for children. Roadblocks claims that it provides

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new gateways into learning from chemistry to physics, to robotics

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and more. And look, y'all, I have three kids, all

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of them when they were younger. They're all adults now,

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but when they were younger, they played Roadblocks, and when

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it started, that was what it was about. Initially, it

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was a learning platform, and it taught them a lot

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of interesting things, made them use their mind. It was

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kind of like a gaming version of puzzles, if you will.

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But it has changed as we'll get into it. Goes

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on to say Roadblocks experiences bring concepts of life in

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ways that immerse learners and motivate exploration, play in deep thinking.

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And in the lawsuit here it's saying how Roadblocks markets

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itself saying the State of Louisiana agrees with this. These offerings,

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according to Roadblocks, include high quality, standard aligned, immersive educational

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experiences designed by curriculum experts. Roadblocks popularity among children exploded

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during the pandemic when it was flooded with millions of

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new users as children's were confined to their homes. By

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September of twenty twenty, roughly thirty one point one million

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people from around the world, more than half of them

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under the age of thirteen, were on Roadblocks daily, making

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it the world's biggest recreational zone for kids. That growth

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has continued unabated. In Roadblocks twenty twenty four to twenty

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five annual report, the company reports an average of eighty

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two point nine million daily active users. But what's more

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shocking than that twenty percent under the age of nine,

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twenty percent from nine to twelve, sixteen percent from thirteen

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to sixteen years old. And here's the shocking part, forty

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four percent at seventeen years of age or over. And

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let me be the first to say, if you're seventeen

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or older and you're playing Roadblocks, you need to get

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a life. Sorry, nod zorry. Today, Roadblocks is the most

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downloaded online gaming system globally, and based on twenty twenty

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three statistics, the average user spends almost three hours two

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point four to be exact hours per day on Roadblocks. Shocking.

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As noted, individuals who wish to play Roadblocks must first

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create an account. It's extremely easy to sign up and

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start having fun. As they promoted, users are only required

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to provide a birth date, user name, and password, so

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you don't have to prove anything. You can say you're

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fourteen and you're forty nine, and it's going to go

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with what you say. It's the honor system right. Users

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of any age can create an account. There is no minimum. Further,

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the defendant, Roadblocks does not require users to verify their

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age upon sign up. As such, users can easily represent

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their younger or older than their actual age, so for example,

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that child predators can pose as children, and that's really

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what this is all about. Although Roadblocks states that children

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are to have parents permission before signing up for an account,

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Roadblocks does not have any safety features to prevent children

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from creating their own accounts or playing on Roadblocks. Indeed,

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Roadblocks does nothing to confirm a document that parental permission

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has been given, so essentially these kids can lie and

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say they're younger or older these adults same thing. Road

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Blocks does not require a parent to confirm the age

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given when a child signs up to use Roadblocks. Roadblocks

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has access to biometric age verification software that requires a

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user to place a photo or government issued idea along

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with real time selfie photo that is verified through artificial intelligence. However,

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Roadblocks utilizes the software for other purposes. Roadblocks intentionally does

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not use this feature when new counts are created. And

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that's the part, the very first part of this that

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I'm covering that shocked me. What the State of Louisiana

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is basically saying here is they have the technology to

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do it, and they already use it for some features,

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just not for signing up. Why is that. Well, in

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my opinion and in the State of Louisiana's opinion, it's

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because it's going to hurt their bottom line if they

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do that. We'll get into more of that. Roadblocks still

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relies on self reportive birthdays for age verification, and Roadblocks

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is intentionally designed to allow users to create accounts using

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fake birthdays, allowing adults to pose as children, and allowing

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children to easily circumvent the more restrictive controls for account

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users under the age of thirteen. After creating an account,

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all users are assigned a default player avatar, a character

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that represents the individual within certain games. Users can then

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play in millions of experiences on Roadblocks, which are much

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like video games. These games are sorted into different genres

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and categories such as sports, role playing, fighting, first person shooters, fashion, horror, comedy, military,

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and naval. The games recommended to a user will vary

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based on the age the user entered when generating their

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account and the Roadblocks algorithm that recommends games to that user.

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To twenty twenty four, when a child created an account,

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the default setting was for parental protections to be turned off.

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Can you believe that As a result, if a child

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made their own account and listed their ages thirteen year

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older than any experience was available to that child. Further,

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until November of twenty twenty four, Defendant's default setting for

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Roadblocks allot adults to easily communicate with children. Adult strangers

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could find friends and chat with a child of any

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age via direct message or private message and invite a

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child to private servers or other experiences on the platform,

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And after entering an experience, users could chat with other

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users in the experience, whether or not they are friends.

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That is, the option to disable chat with strangers inexperienced

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was turned off by default. Now, under Roadblock's default settings,

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adults cannot directly message children under thirteen outside of experiences. However,

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messaging can still be done from within the experiences as

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well as get this parents that didn't realize this voice chatting. Further,

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children under thirteen can still receive friends requests while within

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the experiences. As such, despite these recent changes, Roadblocks continues

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to make children highly vulnerable to predators. Defendant generates revenue

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in part by selling users on a platform exclusive currency

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called roebucks, which must be purchased using real world currency

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before exchanging roebucks or digital content in the closed digital economy.

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Roebucks can be purchased in a single transaction, or a

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user may subscribe to receive roebucks on a recurring basis

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with a Roebucks premium membership. Defendant also offers roebucks gift

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cards that anyone can purchase and send to any user,

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and that's important. Children frequently become obsessed with purchasing or

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otherwise obtaining roebucks to buy items for their avatars and

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to spend in their favorite experiences on roebucks. In Defendant's

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avatar store, for example, the company sells what they call

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rare items at astronomical prices, such as the type of

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hair for an avatar, which children seek to purchase to

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keep up with or outdo their peers on Roadblocks. As

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a result, children often tell others, including strangers, they will

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do quote anything for roebucks. Definitet success and continued growth

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has hinged on its constant assurances to parents that Roadblocks

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is safe for children. Defendant has done this throughout its

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history and in every form possible on its website, through

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public promises of its highest executives, in news articles, on podcasts,

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and so on. Over the years, Defendant has repeatedly represented

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that Roadblocks is safe for children and has misrepresented the

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safety controls it has in place. As early as two

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thousand and seven, Defendant's website is shared parents that Roadblocks

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is an online virtual playground where kids of all ages

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can safely interact, create, have fun, and learn. From two

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thousand and eight to twenty sixteen, the Defendant's website continue

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to promise parents quote we take every precaution possible to

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make sure kids are protected. Defendant also assured parents and

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has a zero tolerance for swearing in obscenities, messages, and

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content of sexual or violent nature, in any sort of

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threatening communication, and will immediately suspend or permanently expel any offenders,

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which was not accurate. Indeed, Defendant has constantly sought to

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paint Roadblocks as a family friendly, safe for children of

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all ages platform. Because Roadblocks is deceptive by design, children

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are exposed to graphic sexual material and existing safety features

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are inadequate. For example, Roadblocks chat filtering feature is designed

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to filter inappropriate content and personal information on accounts age

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twelve and younger, but is less restrictive for accounts thirteen

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and above. However, these filters are easily bypassed by obscuring

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texts with alphanumeric combinations. And it gives an example, and

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it says ditty P and then one three ns. Now,

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if you look at that really fast, write it out

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on a piece of paper right now, and look at

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P one three n s, it looks like the word penis.

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Not only does this permit a workaround for explicit language,

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but it also allows players to circumvent filters. So basically

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what they're saying there is there's an algorithm set up

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to catch certain words, but people just write it like

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I just told you, or they'll even go as far

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as to spell the word backwards. And these kids now

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know that if a word is like gibberish looking, they

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read it backwards, and for example that they want you

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to go to snapchat, instead of writing snap, they'll write

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go to pans, which is snap spelled backwards, and these

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kids know what that means. It's the same thing as

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for a lot of us on TikTok, instead of saying murder,

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you say schmerder, and it fools the algorithm. Supposedly, I

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don't believe it does that because you can't tell me

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that TikTok doesn't know people say schmirder. But anyway, we'll

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move on, so it says. As early as twenty ten,

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Defended had already devolved into hosting and promoting sexually exploded content.

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Defendant scripting language allowed developers to manipulate avatar activity and

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interactions any way they want, which was deployed to create

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scenarios where avatars engage in simulated sex on roadblock. The

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simulated sexual activity pervades roadblocks. As defenditt Well knows, there

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has been numerous reports of children's avatars being raped by

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other users avatars. For example, in twenty eighteen, a seven

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year old girl's avatar was violently raped by two male

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avatars on a playground in a Roadblocks experience, which was

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witnessed by the girl's mother. In describing the aftermath of

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the experience, the girl's mother explained, I never, in my

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wildest dreams would have imagined that I would have to

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talk to my seven year old about rape. Think about that.

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Roadblocks also host a staggering number of experiences centered around

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simulated sexual activity or incense. Children can play condo games

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quote unquote predatory digital environments, including houses where users can

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remove their avatar's virtual clothing, revealing nidity and engage in

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simulated sexual activities with other Roadblocks users. They can also

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play games like get this quote public Bathroom simulator Vibe,

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which allows access to users as young as nine years

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old and enables users to simulate sexual activity in virtual bathrooms,

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as well as virtual strip clubs where child avatars perform

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sexually explicit acts like giving lap dances to patrons. A

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recent investigative report also exposed a multitude of other exploitive

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experiences on Roadblocks that gammify serious criminal conduct, including rape.

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The report confirmed the defendant hosted over six hundred ditty

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games with titles like quote Diddy run from Ditty Simulator

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and Didty Party, which appeared to recreate reported incidents involving

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the music muggle Shawn Combs, publicly known as Ditty, who

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was federally indicted and underwent trial for sex trafficking. This

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report also revealed the defendant was actively hosting more than

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nine hundred Roadblocks accounts displaying variations of convicted sex trafficker

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Jeffrey Epstein's name, such as quote Jeffrey Epstein's supporter, whose

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account defendant knew was interacting with children on its servers.

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Defendant also hosted its server games like quote Escape to

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Epstein Island, which again is a title that directly references

241
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one of the locations where for years, Jeffrey Epstein traffic miners.

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As such, Roadblocks is deceptive and inadequately designed in mired ways,

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including but not limited to the lack of apt actual

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age verification process. Defend its failure to ensure age appropriate experiences.

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Defend its deceptive and inadequate monitoring and failure to warn

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parents and children of dangers of saciety. We're Roadblocks, including

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but not limited to Roadblocks' exploitation dangers, and y'all, it

248
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just goes on and on with this bullshit. I mean,

249
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there are a myriad of examples, some forty pages in

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00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.119
this lawsuit. So I want to cover a couple of things,

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and then I'm going to play a clip for you,

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but just quickly. What I want to cover, what this

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is all about, at the end of the day, is

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to try to get roadblocks off their ass and get

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safety features for their product. In Louisiana, we have, like

256
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several other states, we have something called EYKAC, which is

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Internet Crimes against Children and it's the task force put

258
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together by the state Attorney General Liz Murrel. So what

259
00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:09.079
this is designed to do is, you know, as you

260
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can already probably imagine, is go after predators. That's the

261
00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:16.079
whole point of it. Predators are not like they were

262
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let's say in the nineties and early two thousands, where

263
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to be a predator on children you had to actually

264
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approach children. It's a hell of a lot easier these days.

265
00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.160
And what makes it really easy is a lot of

266
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parents don't understand the chat features and a lot of

267
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these games. How many times have I told y'all on

268
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bad teachers, ninety nine point nine percent of the time

269
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they're gaining access to these kids through a chat feature Snapchat,

270
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Instagram or even games. They'll say, let's go play words

271
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with friends, and they'll go into Words with friends and

272
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they'll start chatting with these miners. Same situation here, except

273
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for twenty percent of these people playing this or under

274
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the age of thirteen. In this company, Roadblocks is a

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global company. It's public. You buy stock ownership into this

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company billions of billions of dollars. Is worse. So this

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is a way to strike Roadblocks where it hurts, which

278
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is in their pocketbook. They have to start answering for

279
00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:24.759
why their profit got taken by the State of Louisiana

280
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some of their profit anyway, due to this lawsuit. And

281
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whoever sits at that table, they're border directors are going

282
00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:34.279
to say, we need to tighten up our safety features

283
00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.160
because they're culpable in all of this because they allow it.

284
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Escape from Epstein Island. Seriously, So I'm play you a clip.

285
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Now this is a press conference. I was actually at this,

286
00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:49.759
so you're gonna hear some of the police discuss cases,

287
00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:55.880
particular cases quickly, and then the Attorney General answers questions

288
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from the media. And now after this press conference, the

289
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Attorney General did a pretty good five minute interview that

290
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I'm also going to include in this discussing the case.

291
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So here's that.

292
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Before finish, I just would like Alson Jarifola to come

293
00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:12.880
forward please and throw if you will, go over.

294
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Our case with some Alson.

295
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Def nee.

296
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In late twenty twenty four, our office, working with the

297
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FBI's Internet Crimes Against Children's Task Force, investigated a twenty

298
00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.680
year old Baton rouge man linked to two separate juvenile

299
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victims in different states. In one case, he solicited explicit

300
00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:37.920
images from a fourteen year old after learning her age.

301
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In another, he extorted a fifteen year old for money

302
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to keep him from releasing explicit images. Evidence also revealed

303
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a video depicting the sexual abuse of a child under thirteen.

304
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He was arrested on multiple counts, including indecent behavior with juveniles,

305
00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:58.480
computer aided solicitation of a minor, and possession of child

306
00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:03.000
sexual abuse material. This case shows our commitment, alongside our

307
00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:07.759
federal partners, to aggressively pursue anyone who targets and exploits children,

308
00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:09.000
wherever they may be.

309
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Thank you.

310
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And closing on behalf of our deputies and investigators. I

311
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:20.759
want to once again thank Attorney General for making strong

312
00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:24.839
action to protect our children and for holding companies responsible

313
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when they fail to act.

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I know.

315
00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:34.599
Loiz Merrill has been outstanding Attorney General in her term

316
00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:36.680
so far, and I know where she will continue to

317
00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:40.759
be and I know that in her heart this is

318
00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:45.200
a very very personal matter when it comes to our children,

319
00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:46.240
as it should.

320
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Be with all of us.

321
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So I want to thank you again for what you

322
00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:51.640
and your team are doing. And at this time I

323
00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:53.920
think introduce David Farrell.

324
00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:04.960
Hey, good afternoon. So I'll start off by saying this.

325
00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:08.759
When I first had children, the best advice I got

326
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was that you can't raise your.

327
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Kids the way you were raised because the.

328
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Reality is the world I grew up in, in the

329
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world we grew up in.

330
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Doesn't exist anymore. So if we were to raise our

331
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:23.039
kids the same way we were raised, that world doesn't exist.

332
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Technology created an environment that created.

333
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A much smaller world.

334
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Kids currently are online, going to school, that's where their

335
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socializing is, that's where they're gaming is, that's where they live,

336
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and so.

337
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That's where predators live.

338
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Unfortunately, the days of us the stranger danger of the

339
00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.000
guy in the park, because that's the one in the

340
00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:47.759
trench coade. Kids aren't in the park anymore. Where do

341
00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:50.839
kids live now? And kids live on these types of platforms.

342
00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:53.799
They live on the roadblocks, they live on these different

343
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social media platforms, and so that's where our focus as

344
00:23:57.160 --> 00:23:59.960
law enforcement has to be in order to protect our

345
00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:05.720
children here in Louisiana. Now, Roadblocks, as the Attorney General

346
00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:09.440
has already mentioned, has well over fifty percent of the

347
00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:12.759
US youth using roadblocks on a monthly basis.

348
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So we have an obligation here in Louisiana.

349
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And a responsibility here in Louisiana to protect our children

350
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in Louisiana.

351
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The problem is Roadblocks also.

352
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Has a responsibility and an obligation to provide the safest

353
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possible platform they can for our children to be on.

354
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While we have not failed our job and we are

355
00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:34.920
doing everything we can, Roadblocks has failed their job. They

356
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:38.559
failed to do the bare minimum to provide any type

357
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of safeguards for the children of Louisiana.

358
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So they were launched in two thousand and six. Their

359
00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:46.720
first report.

360
00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:50.119
Of child exploitation to the National Center for Missingexploited Children

361
00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:52.279
didn't occur for thirteen years.

362
00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:54.680
It was twenty nineteen.

363
00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:58.240
Was the first time Roadblocks actually reported an incident of

364
00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:02.000
child exploitation on their network. Now, let's think about that,

365
00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:08.559
they have on average four million users monthly. With four

366
00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:12.279
million users monthly, we would expect those numbers to be

367
00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:15.160
astronomical the number of reports that are coming in.

368
00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:19.759
But currently roadblock has only reported.

369
00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:24.200
Twenty four thousand cases of child online child exploitation in

370
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:28.799
the last year. So four million cases monthly, I'm sorry,

371
00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:33.039
four million users monthly, four hundred million I apologize, four

372
00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:38.359
hundred million users monthly and twenty four thousand cases roughly.

373
00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:42.599
So in Louisiana, as the Journey General mentioned, our numbers

374
00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:46.119
are just skyrocketing in the Internet crops against Children's Task Force.

375
00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:50.319
We were sitting at right at fourteen thousand cybertips, fourteen

376
00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:53.759
thousand individual cases, individual offenders or victims here.

377
00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:54.839
In Louisiana last year.

378
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Of those fourteen thousand, Roadblocks made up less than one percent.

379
00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:06.319
Now imagine half of every half of the population.

380
00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:10.599
Every kid in Louisiana is on roadblocks on a monthly basis,

381
00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:16.880
but less than one percent of the cases we're receiving

382
00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:18.359
come from Roadblocks.

383
00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:22.400
Now, let's compare that to some of the other platforms.

384
00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:23.839
That are out there, and I'm not gonna say one

385
00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:25.519
is better than the other. But let's just look at

386
00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:29.680
platforms that are similar size, So the facebooks, the snapchats,

387
00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:34.400
the Instagram, those types of platforms Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram.

388
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:34.480
And Google.

389
00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:37.519
If you compare their numbers and you average what reports

390
00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:40.000
they provide to the National Center and should those are

391
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:42.640
those reports that we receive from the internet crimes against children.

392
00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:46.960
They are averaging three and a half million reports a year,

393
00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:51.920
three and a half million on these sized platforms. Roadblocks

394
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.119
is just as large, and they're averaging twenty four thousand.

395
00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:00.480
They're not even attempting to protect the children of the Louisiana.

396
00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:03.160
And that's what you see here per standing here in

397
00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:06.440
front of you today is Louisiana is going to protect

398
00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:09.240
the children the best way we can. And whether that

399
00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:12.519
be through a suit against Roadblocks or whether that be

400
00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:14.799
executing a search warned at any predator's house, we will

401
00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:28.599
do everything we can to keep our children safe.

402
00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:31.279
So, just to kind of recap and then we'll take

403
00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:36.680
some questions, Roadblocks is perpetuating violence against children and sexual

404
00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:38.359
exploitation for profit.

405
00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:41.759
If you want to know why, that's the answer.

406
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:47.039
They want to keep as much engagement as possible. If

407
00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:49.880
they were to limit the kids or the kids interaction

408
00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:53.440
on this site, it would lower their user engagement numbers

409
00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:57.440
that would affect them and their profit margins.

410
00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:01.000
So they've chosen profits of child safety.

411
00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:05.720
It's basically open season for sex predators on this app.

412
00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:08.839
For this reason and all of the.

413
00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:13.200
Others that we've talked about today, Roadblocks is violating Louisiana

414
00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:16.640
law and that's why we filed this lawsuit here in

415
00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:20.720
the twenty first first JDC. At the end of the day,

416
00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:24.039
I think Roadblocks should be shut down that I'll have

417
00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:26.160
be happy to take any questions that you have about

418
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.720
the lawsuit.

419
00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:29.839
We'll starve here.

420
00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:34.759
Are you're certain protections that you would wife to see.

421
00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:36.920
I'm interested in common that you would like to see

422
00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:39.640
an app shut down, but you need that there are

423
00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:42.519
some protections. Take food with place, sort of just keep

424
00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:44.319
your money since play have.

425
00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:48.880
Your garification in the ash apple questions.

426
00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:53.559
Yeah, look so for starters, assuming we didn't have the

427
00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:56.519
kind of statistics that we have on Roadblocks and the

428
00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:01.920
sex predators sort of penchant to use this app, I

429
00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:05.680
think that the age verification side of it is extremely important.

430
00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:08.200
That is something that other apps are doing. They can

431
00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:10.200
do it a lot more vigorously than they are.

432
00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:11.000
Uh.

433
00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:14.400
There are mechanisms that you can check to try and

434
00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:17.279
double verify, not that you don't just go in and

435
00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:20.079
create an account and get to say whatever age you

436
00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:22.400
want to say that you are. There are mechanisms that

437
00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:24.559
you can use to have some redundancy in checking that.

438
00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:28.559
Parental screening and parental controls those are important too, making

439
00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:32.640
sure the parent has approved, preventing kids from being able

440
00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:36.079
to work around the restrictions that a parent might put

441
00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:39.759
on the app. There are a lot of things that

442
00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:42.279
other app developers are doing.

443
00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.599
We have a law now.

444
00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:50.680
That requires age verification for pornography websites, and I mean

445
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:53.000
they're complying unless they're I mean, we have one I

446
00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:54.839
think who's from out of his country, and I don't

447
00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:55.640
think they're compliant.

448
00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:57.119
But the other ones I believe are.

449
00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:01.359
So, you know, there are some pretty clear tech tools

450
00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:03.839
that they could be using and they're simply not using them.

451
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:06.599
That's the that's a choice that they've made.

452
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:11.039
The first state to.

453
00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:16.480
Investigated, I believe we're the first state to sue.

454
00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:18.119
We're not the first person to.

455
00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:20.720
See I mean, there's there are some individuals who have sued,

456
00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:24.119
but I believe we're the first state to follow suit.

457
00:30:24.599 --> 00:30:27.200
My next question, I would have to say, I spoke

458
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:30.400
with the alphice last year alongst time on this civil issue.

459
00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:30.559
More.

460
00:30:30.759 --> 00:30:33.400
I guess why, Well, thirteen thousand cases, I know he

461
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:35.200
said fourteen? Who's there? Specifically?

462
00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:37.519
I spoke with plic case so on we get to it,

463
00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:40.920
I guess today stood or as a whole, as who's

464
00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:42.279
you only been investiating, or.

465
00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:46.440
As capta precon through the ikak unit. I mean, David,

466
00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:49.400
I think are total numbers to date that I'm aware

467
00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:52.279
of were somewhere around twenty three thousand this year.

468
00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:55.160
So we're at thirteen thousand, six hundred and forty four

469
00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:58.240
last year, and we are the year obviously hasn't been

470
00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:01.359
completed yet, but we're estimating about a teen thousand when

471
00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:02.160
we're done for the year.

472
00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:05.680
So these numbers are doubling almost every year now, and

473
00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:08.680
that that is very very concerning. And so when you

474
00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:11.440
have an app like this one that is doing the

475
00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:15.160
absolute minimum, and not not only that they're doing the

476
00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:19.079
absolute minimum minimum, but but we know what the results are.

477
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:20.480
I mean, this isn't a secret.

478
00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:23.119
There's all kinds of discussions on the internet about how

479
00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:26.880
dangerous this app is, and yet their principles are out

480
00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:31.000
there saying things like, you know, safety's in our DNA,

481
00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:32.960
which is flagrantly false.

482
00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:38.839
Go ahead, no good, hey Ethan, goom Louisia our first moon.

483
00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:42.039
So, like you mentioned the rise from these cases, what

484
00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:45.960
other roles to community and leaders or even parents play

485
00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:48.720
to you know, up to take children and just keep

486
00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:50.000
them safe from these industries.

487
00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:53.240
Look, this isn't all hands on deck challenge.

488
00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:54.240
It really is.

489
00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:57.319
And and as a parent, I mean I think that

490
00:31:57.440 --> 00:32:01.240
you know, I'm grateful that my sons are older right now,

491
00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:05.240
because this is just a huge problem for young kids.

492
00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:08.519
I mean I talked to one mom about this potentially,

493
00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:10.359
you know, when we were getting ready to follow this lawsuit,

494
00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:11.880
and she said, you mean the app that I just

495
00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:13.319
let my son download today.

496
00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:16.839
I said, yeah, that's the one. So, you know, I

497
00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:18.359
think we have to educate.

498
00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:21.680
The public about the dangers of both this app and others.

499
00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:25.160
We have to educate people about any system.

500
00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:30.400
That allows your child to chat with somebody unchecked through

501
00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:33.799
the app. I mean, we have seen other significant problems

502
00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:39.079
with predators moving children to discord. That's another app that

503
00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:42.160
we've seen a lot of problems with Snapchat is another

504
00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:46.240
one I've seen on this app that that even if

505
00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:50.119
they have particular software that might ban certain words, they'll

506
00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:52.599
spell it backwards and they can get around it.

507
00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:54.920
So you know, you'll see somebody.

508
00:32:54.559 --> 00:32:57.079
Chatting with a child, you can see the dialogue and

509
00:32:57.119 --> 00:33:00.799
it'll say let's go to and it'll spell snap backwards.

510
00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:03.480
So you know, there are things that I think the

511
00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:06.799
app can be doing to better identify this kind of conduct.

512
00:33:07.160 --> 00:33:10.160
They should be taking these sites off. I mean, just

513
00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:11.839
these websites.

514
00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:15.960
About you know, public bathroom simulators. I mean really, you know,

515
00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:19.240
having condo games where young children can be in there

516
00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:23.799
and their their avatar is naked. I mean, there's there

517
00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:28.480
is no justification for this. So parents need to be involved.

518
00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:31.720
There's no doubt that parents have to be involved. And

519
00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:34.519
and you know, I agree with what David said. It's

520
00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:36.799
not the way that we grew up as kids. It's

521
00:33:36.839 --> 00:33:39.599
a whole different world. Your child is not safe at

522
00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:55.880
home when they have that phone in their hand. Go ahead, right, Yeah,

523
00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:58.160
I supported that law that was ken Cartersville.

524
00:33:58.200 --> 00:34:00.480
I believe supported that law.

525
00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:03.759
It requires the platforms that that that host a lot

526
00:34:03.799 --> 00:34:05.880
of these apps and sell them through their app stores.

527
00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:09.159
I think that they have an obligation as well.

528
00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:12.000
Some of them have talked to me and they would

529
00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:14.599
prefer for the duty to rest on the shoulders of

530
00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:17.639
the app developers. It's their job as well. I mean,

531
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:20.360
it belongs to everybody. This is that My position is

532
00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:22.920
that everybody who can do something should do something.

533
00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:32.199
That was one of the cases that a huge issue

534
00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:35.440
I know, as a plate that is in forefront a

535
00:34:35.559 --> 00:34:37.880
lot of states trying to tap them six stores and

536
00:34:37.920 --> 00:34:41.840
so try something that's more uptoms we use specify cases.

537
00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:43.599
Yes, I mean, and that's one of the ways that

538
00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:46.159
they can exploit kids. I mean, first they lure them

539
00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:50.840
into to communicate with them and lure them into a relationship,

540
00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:52.440
and then they.

541
00:34:52.599 --> 00:34:54.800
You know, they groom them and then convince them.

542
00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:58.239
I mean, if you have a young girl or boy

543
00:34:58.719 --> 00:35:02.119
and that person leaves that they are communicating with someone

544
00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:05.920
who is the same age and somehow convinces them to

545
00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:09.639
send a picture. Now they've got the picture, and then

546
00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:13.719
the sextortion begins. So not exclusive to this app, but

547
00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:17.480
I mean it's definitely a problem. You know, we've seen

548
00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:21.079
kids commit suicide because of that and it's scary.

549
00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:21.000
You know.

550
00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:23.320
I mean, you just you don't know what's happening with

551
00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:26.719
your child and you find out later, and I just,

552
00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:30.199
you know, my heart breaks every time I hear something

553
00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:32.360
like that, because you know, you just want kids to

554
00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:35.920
reach out if they encounter that kind of situation.

555
00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:36.519
Again.

556
00:35:36.920 --> 00:35:42.960
Education, Education, like letting people know this is this is wrong,

557
00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:45.719
it's illegal. There are people that will listen to you

558
00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:49.000
and will pursue it, and we will hold them accountable.

559
00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:52.159
Parents of young children might be familiar with the gaming

560
00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:56.079
platform Roadblocks. Launched in two thousand and six, Roadblocks enables

561
00:35:56.159 --> 00:35:59.440
users to experience a wide array of games and experiences,

562
00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:02.239
some of which are designed by the platform's own users.

563
00:36:02.639 --> 00:36:06.079
Roadblocks currently has eighty two million active users, with nearly

564
00:36:06.199 --> 00:36:09.480
twenty percent of those users under the age of nine.

565
00:36:09.719 --> 00:36:13.159
And that is a basis of a lawsuit now fouled

566
00:36:13.159 --> 00:36:17.239
by the Louisiana Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murle against Roadblocks,

567
00:36:17.239 --> 00:36:21.000
which he alleges has failed to implement an age verification process,

568
00:36:21.239 --> 00:36:24.239
making it a breeding ground for pedophiles who can easily

569
00:36:24.320 --> 00:36:27.480
create fake birthdays to gain access into the platform.

570
00:36:27.800 --> 00:36:31.239
Part of ag Murle's lawsuit against roadblocks reads as follows.

571
00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:35.639
For years, Defendant has knowingly enabled and facilitated the systematic

572
00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:39.880
sexual exploitation and abuse of children across the United States,

573
00:36:39.920 --> 00:36:44.880
including in Louisiana. Through wilful disregard and deceptive practices, Defendant

574
00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:50.280
has perpetuated an online environment in which child predators thrive,

575
00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:55.079
directly contributing to the widespread victimization of minor children in Louisiana.

576
00:36:55.679 --> 00:36:57.639
With that, it is our pleasure to welcome in the

577
00:36:57.800 --> 00:37:01.360
Louisiana AG Liz Merle. Welcome and thanks so much for

578
00:37:01.480 --> 00:37:04.280
coming on. Can you elaborate what you've been able to

579
00:37:04.440 --> 00:37:08.199
uncover here and what's been alleged against this gaming program

580
00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:09.679
when it comes to young users.

581
00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:14.559
You know, what's clear about this program is that it

582
00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:21.360
is dangerous by design. They have deliberately kind of prevented

583
00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:25.000
some of the tools to be used that would prevent

584
00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:28.760
sex predators from having kind of you know, free range

585
00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:33.159
use of the of the program to run down and

586
00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:37.559
identify children to groom. And they've done that in order

587
00:37:37.639 --> 00:37:42.559
to increase their user engagement. So absolutely putting profit over

588
00:37:42.679 --> 00:37:45.880
the protection of our children. And this is a platform

589
00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:50.360
where they know that almost sixty percent of their user base,

590
00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:53.239
which is you know, on the order of hundreds of

591
00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:54.719
millions of people.

592
00:37:55.400 --> 00:37:59.719
Is our children that are under the age of sixteen general.

593
00:37:59.639 --> 00:38:01.760
I want to talk about the statement that Roadblocks put

594
00:38:01.800 --> 00:38:05.199
out here defending their platform. It reads this in part,

595
00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:07.400
every day, tens of millions of users of all ages

596
00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:10.639
have safe and positive experiences on Roadblocks abiding by the

597
00:38:10.679 --> 00:38:14.840
company's community standards. Roadblocks takes any context or behavior on

598
00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:19.159
the platform that doesn't abide by its standards extremely seriously,

599
00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:22.639
and Roadblocks has a robust set of proactive and preventative

600
00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:25.920
safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful

601
00:38:25.960 --> 00:38:28.599
activity on the platform. So clearly they don't agree with

602
00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:31.920
this lawsuits your response to their statement.

603
00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:36.199
I think their statement is absurdly tone deaf, you know.

604
00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:41.039
I mean the fact that they ignore the thousands and

605
00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:44.800
millions of children that are being exposed to sex predators

606
00:38:44.840 --> 00:38:47.159
on their app by saying that millions of them have

607
00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:49.320
positive experiences on the app.

608
00:38:49.559 --> 00:38:51.079
Is tone deaf.

609
00:38:51.239 --> 00:38:55.679
I mean they are ignoring the clear and present danger

610
00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:59.840
that exists for children on their app and trying to basically,

611
00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:05.000
you know, cover over that by talking about the positive experiences.

612
00:39:05.119 --> 00:39:08.559
The positive experience is pale when you look at the

613
00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:12.079
negative ones and the exposure that our kids have to

614
00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:16.039
extreme sexual exploitation and abuse on this app.

615
00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:19.599
Wow, I mean no question there is risk when you're

616
00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:24.239
operating online and in many instances anonymous users, you don't

617
00:39:24.280 --> 00:39:27.960
know exactly who the person is behind a character and

618
00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:31.280
who they claim to be. My concern is, of course,

619
00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:33.880
if this were to be taken offline, and so much

620
00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:36.239
damage can be done when you're communicating back and forth

621
00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:38.960
with someone remotely, even that can have an influence on

622
00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:41.800
a young child or photos exchanged. But do you know

623
00:39:42.039 --> 00:39:45.800
of any examples of when something happened offline from ropeblocks

624
00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:47.000
and a child was impacted.

625
00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:51.360
Well, we do have numerous examples of that, and we

626
00:39:51.519 --> 00:39:55.159
track as best we can through the KAC tips that

627
00:39:55.239 --> 00:39:58.719
we get through the nickmickchips from the National Center for

628
00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:02.119
Missing and to Children that are filtered down to our

629
00:40:02.199 --> 00:40:05.800
states through our Internet Crimes against Children task forces. And

630
00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:07.960
we have one example that we talk about in the

631
00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:12.119
lawsuit where a sheriff was executing a warrant and at

632
00:40:12.159 --> 00:40:14.599
the time they were executing the warrant, they walked in

633
00:40:14.719 --> 00:40:18.119
on an individual who was masking his voice as a

634
00:40:18.199 --> 00:40:22.360
fourteen year old girl on roadblocks attempting to groom a child.

635
00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:24.679
And you know, part of what they do is they

636
00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:28.440
may meet them, groom them, and then you know, they

637
00:40:28.519 --> 00:40:29.599
can access them and.

638
00:40:29.679 --> 00:40:32.239
Talk to them on this app. They can also get

639
00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:33.719
them to move to other apps.

640
00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:38.880
And I've seen some attempt to say that the actual

641
00:40:38.960 --> 00:40:41.000
exploitation happens.

642
00:40:40.679 --> 00:40:42.639
On other apps, but this is the one where they

643
00:40:42.719 --> 00:40:45.480
meet them and groom them and move them. So you know,

644
00:40:45.639 --> 00:40:47.000
I don't think that's an answer either.

645
00:40:48.039 --> 00:40:51.840
So there you have it. Hopefully you're as upset as

646
00:40:51.880 --> 00:40:54.639
I am about this. I'm sure you are if you're

647
00:40:54.800 --> 00:40:57.039
listening to this show. We need to do whatever we

648
00:40:57.159 --> 00:41:04.480
can to protect children, period, and the wild West that

649
00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:08.960
these gaming apps have been having for years and years

650
00:41:09.199 --> 00:41:12.400
is time for that to end. So hopefully we're going

651
00:41:12.440 --> 00:41:14.639
to see some resolution, and maybe this is a good

652
00:41:14.679 --> 00:41:18.239
start to it, Louisiana being the first date to sue

653
00:41:18.480 --> 00:41:21.960
a major gaming platform like this. Shout out to Liz

654
00:41:22.400 --> 00:41:26.159
Murell for doing the right thing. And until next time

655
00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:31.320
for exposed scandalous files of the Elite, I'm your host,

656
00:41:31.440 --> 00:41:33.599
Jim Chapman. Much love,