New unit championed by Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer expands local enforcement amid gaps in federal consumer protection enforcement

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP serves as outside counsel to the County in the AppLovin matter.

San Diego County today launched its new Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit with lawsuits against AppLovin, Roblox and Polymaker, immediately putting the County’s new civil enforcement capacity to work on cases involving children’s safety, consumer privacy and 3D-printed ghost guns.

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP serves as outside counsel to the County in the lawsuit against AppLovin.

Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer first called for creating a local consumer protection division in her 2025 State of the County Address, arguing that San Diego needed stronger local enforcement as federal consumer protections were being rolled back.

“People should be able to trust the products they buy, the apps their kids use and the companies they deal with,” said Lawson-Remer. “Families are already stretched thin by the cost of living. They should not also have to pay the price when companies mislead them, misuse their information or put their kids at risk. We built this team to stand up for San Diegans and make sure powerful companies play by the same rules as everyone else.”

The first three lawsuits

AppLovin

AppLovin is a major digital advertising platform whose technology reaches more than 1 billion daily active users worldwide, according to the company.

The County’s complaint alleges that even when parents turned on controls meant to protect their children, AppLovin’s technology bypassed those safeguards and served ads for adult dating, alcohol, vaping, cannabis, graphic sexual content and violence inside mobile games used by children. It also alleges the company collected sensitive information from children’s devices despite safeguards and opt-outs — including data that could reveal where a child lives, goes to school or whether they are asleep or awake.

And because AppLovin makes money from user interactions with ads, the County also alleges its interfaces make it difficult to skip or close ads, artificially inflating the activity reported to advertisers and the clicks they can be charged for.

The County is bringing claims under California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law and is seeking injunctive relief, restitution, and civil penalties.

[Read the AppLovin lawsuit HERE]

Roblox

Roblox is one of the world’s largest online gaming platforms, with about 144 million daily active users worldwide. Among users who have completed Roblox’s age-check process, the company says 35% are under 13 and another 38% are ages 13 to 17.

The County’s complaint alleges Roblox marketed its platform to parents and children as a safe place to play, create and connect, while failing to put adequate protections in place to stop adults from posing as children and contacting young users. The County alleges predators used the platform to build trust with children, move conversations off Roblox and groom them for sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking.

The County is bringing claims under California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law and is seeking injunctive relief to stop the alleged practices.

[Read the Roblox lawsuit HERE]

Polymaker

Polymaker is a global manufacturer of 3D-printing filament and materials sold to consumers and businesses around the world.

California law generally prohibits unlicensed people from using 3D printers to make unserialized firearms. The County alleges Polymaker knew those laws existed and still deliberately marketed certain filaments to people making 3D-printed ghost guns — helping create a market for illegal, untraceable firearms.

The County alleges Polymaker did more than sell a product that some customers happened to misuse. The company created firearm-themed products, partnered with gun-printing influencers, paid affiliates to promote its filament to gun-printing audiences, provided technical guidance for firearm applications and engaged directly with online communities devoted to printing guns.

The County also alleges Polymaker sponsored prominent gun-printing influencer Sean Aranda after YouTube demonetized his channel, later hired him as its Head of Customer Experience and continued promoting its products to the 3D-printed gun community.

The County is asking the court to stop these practices, impose civil penalties and require Polymaker to give up proceeds tied to unlawful conduct.

[Read the Polymaker lawsuit HERE]

“The mission of the Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit is straightforward: when bad actors or unlawful business practices put our children, our families, and our communities at risk, this office is here to act,” said County Counsel Damon Brown. “Our first three lawsuits filed today in San Diego Superior Court are proof positive that we have hit the ground running. Each of these cases is grounded in the law and seeks meaningful relief to stop and prevent harmful conduct.”

“Parents should be able to trust that a game marketed as safe for their kids is actually safe. People should be able to use technology without their family’s most sensitive information being secretly collected. And companies should not be able to profit by helping people evade laws designed to keep our communities safe,” Lawson-Remer said. “Those are basic expectations. Our job is to make sure the rules actually mean something.”

ABOUT BLB&G

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP prosecutes class and private actions on behalf of individual and institutional clients worldwide. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has recovered more than $40 billion in cases ranging from securities fraud to healthcare fraud to racial discrimination. BLB&G is widely recognized as a preeminent litigation firm with a deep commitment to holding corporations responsible for their misconduct.

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