Roblox Settles Content Moderation Class Action for $10 Million [UPDATE]

Roblox has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a proposed class action that alleged the popular “metaverse” platform had deleted in-game content that users had already paid for, supposedly under the guise of “content moderation,” without offering refunds.

According to court documents, the $10 million class action settlement will refund to eligible Roblox users “nearly half” of their alleged losses, an amount attorneys told the court “far outpaces the usual recovery” for consumers. In initially green-lighting the deal, the court called the settlement “fair, adequate, and reasonable” to eligible Roblox users.

Read on to learn more about who’s covered by the Roblox settlement, how to get money from the deal and more.

Who’s covered by the Roblox settlement?

The deal, which received preliminary approval from U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick on May 11, 2023, covers all individuals in the United States who, prior to May 11, had a Roblox account from which content on the Roblox platform was moderated or removed by Roblox.

Notably excluded from the settlement are more than 300 Roblox accounts owned by individuals who, according to Roblox, “spent over 80,000 Robux (equating to over $1,000)” on three categories of virtual in-game items and are believed to be “engaged in suspicious behavior,” such as potential money laundering.

How much can I get from the settlement?

Roblox users covered by the deal will receive a share of the $10 million settlement fund. Each person’s share will be based on the amount of Robux they spent on “moderated” items, i.e., the amount of Robux they lost due to the alleged misconduct, and will be paid in Robux (the Roblox in-game currency) by default.

This relief will be calculated at a rate of 1 Robux = $0.01, a rate that is more favorable than nearly any charged by Roblox on the open market except for users who wish to spend $100 at a time.”

Court documents state that those whose share of the Roblox settlement is worth more than $10 will have the option to receive their refund in cash instead of Robux.

How do I get money from the settlement?

Relief for class members covered by the Roblox settlement will be automatic. That is, users will receive their share of the settlement straight to their Roblox account without needing to take any action, no proof required.

Those who are eligible to receive a cash payment from the settlement—that is, Roblox users whose share of the settlement exceeds $10—can elect to receive cash instead of Robux by submitting a claim form on the official settlement website. To submit the form, users will need their unique claim code found in their settlement notice. This category of claimants can choose to receive their cash payment via check, direct deposit, or electronic payment.

The deadline to file a claim for a cash payment is August 10, 2023.

Are there other benefits to the settlement?

After the lawsuit was initially filed, Roblox implemented an automatic refund program for users who buy in-game items that are later deleted. Through this program, whenever a Roblox user’s paid-for virtual content is “moderated” (deleted) from the platform, the individual will automatically receive a credit for the Robux they spent on the item, unless the person is found to be “guilty of a Terms of Service violation.”

The settlement guarantees that this automatic refund program will be kept in place by Roblox for at least four more years for all Roblox users.

In their request for the court to preliminarily approve the deal, attorneys stressed that the settlement is “an excellent result” in a case mired by “challenging circumstances.”

Will I be notified about the settlement?

According to the preliminary approval order, direct notice will be provided to class members via email and in-app notification. Those who are eligible to receive their refund in cash will also receive an email reminder, court documents state.

As part of the settlement, Roblox is required to provide the settlement administrator with covered users’ data—including their usernames, email addresses and the amount they spent on moderated items—no later than 14 days after May 11, 2023. This list will not be disclosed to any other party and will not be used for any purposes outside of those outlined in the settlement agreement.

When will I get money from the Roblox settlement?

Typically, class action settlement benefits are distributed after a deal receives final approval from the court and any appeals are resolved. This process can take weeks or months.

A final approval hearing for the Roblox settlement is on the books for September 7, 2023.

Is there an official settlement website?

There will be. ClassAction.org will update this page when the website goes live.

How did we get here?

In May 2021, a proposed class action lawsuit alleged Roblox Corporation had taken advantage of users by deleting in-game content that had already been paid for with Robux, purportedly for “content moderation purposes,” without offering refunds.

Per ClassAction.org’s May 26, 2021 write-up:

It works like this. Roblox encourages users—at least 70 percent of whom are under 18 years old—to buy in-game content but fails to perform any meaningful oversight to ensure that what’s brought into the online marketplace complies with its policies, the suit says. What Roblox does instead, according to the lawsuit, is allow users to buy in-game content before later deleting it for alleged policy violations—but only after users have already paid.”

The lawsuit alleged that Roblox’s profit-driven, “clever content moderation scheme” made it look as though the company was meaningfully moderating its platform while ensuring that money-making content would remain available to players. As a result, players would spend more Robux, purchased with real-world money, to replace what had been deleted, the case said.

The suit alleged that Roblox offered users neither refunds nor account credits when their paid-for in-game content was deleted. In many cases, the case claimed, the deleted content was not offensive, inappropriate or infringing upon any trademarks, and in some instances the content had returned to the online store after it had been “moderated” out of a user’s account.

Sometime prior to March 28, 2023, the parties reached a settlement after hours of mediation that “went late into the evening.” The Jane Doe plaintiff informed the court on April 26 that “the parties have reached a tentative class action settlement.”

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