SAN FRANCISCO: Popular virtual gaming platform Roblox has been sued by the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) in the US, seeking $200 million in damages for allegedly allowing users to upload music from famous artists without paying a licensing fee.
The Verge reported on Thursday that the NMPA filed suit on behalf of several major music publishers, accusing the popular kid-focused platform of hosting a shared library of copyrighted but unlicensed songs from Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons, deadmau5, and other artists .
The lawsuit alleged that Roblox "actively preys on its impressionable user base and their desire for popular music, teaching children that pirating music is perfectly acceptable".
The lawsuit also seeks a court order that will make Roblox crack down on piracy.
Roblox, which was launched in 2006, has been a runaway hit during the pandemic, giving socially distanced kids a social space to gather online.
The company said in a statement posted on its website that it is surprised and disappointed by this lawsuit "which represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Roblox platform operates, and will defend Roblox vigorously as we work to achieve a fair resolution".
"We do not tolerate copyright infringement, which is why we use industry-leading, advanced filtering technology to detect and prohibit unauthorised recordings, " the company added.
Half of Roblox's audience of more than 30 million daily users are kids under 13.
The company reported revenue of $588.7 million during the first nine months of 2020, a 68 per cent increase over the same period in 2019.
Roblox went public via a direct listing in March and said in its prospectus that its users spent an average of 2.6 hours daily on the platform over the past year.