Texas Sues Roblox Over Child Safety Failures

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Roblox Corporation, alleging that the company “flagrantly” ignored state and federal online safety laws while deceiving parents about risks to children on its platform. Paxton announced the lawsuit in a public statement and in a social media post, describing Roblox as a “breeding ground for predators” and accusing the company of putting “pixel paedophiles and corporate profit” over child safety. His office stated that children in Texas “have been repeatedly exposed to sexually explicit content, exploitation, and grooming,” and that Roblox chose to endanger them rather than strengthen protections. Paxton said, “Any corporation that enables child abuse will face the full and unrelenting force of the law.”

The lawsuit identifies Roblox as a multi-billion-dollar operator of one of the largest online gaming platforms for children and accuses it of deceptive trade practices for misrepresenting the strength of its safety features. It further claims that the platform functions as a common nuisance by hosting an environment that attracts child predators engaged in grooming and sexual exploitation. Several examples in the filing reference children who were abused by individuals they met on Roblox, including activity linked to the group known as 764, which the lawsuit describes as targeting victims online to coerce them into explicit acts or self-harm. The complaint states that Roblox expanded certain parental control measures only after multiple lawsuits and after a report released last fall by Hindenburg Research. The report asserted that its internal observations revealed widespread grooming, pornography, violent content, and abusive speech embedded within the user experience.

Roblox reported in September that it had more than 111 million daily active users, a large proportion of whom are children. The platform allows users to play alone or alongside others and has been promoted to families through educational games that cover subjects such as coding, physics, and problem-solving. Roblox also provides tools for users to develop their own games, a feature that has contributed to the emergence of violent and sexual content. Additionally, the platform’s system that allows players to join servers and interact with strangers has been criticized for exposing young users to individuals who may pose a risk. Parents and children have reported concerns about encountering distressing content or experiencing abusive behavior.

Roblox provided statements responding to the lawsuit. The company told the BBC it is “disappointed” to be sued based on “misrepresentations and sensationalised claims” and said it shares Paxton’s commitment to keeping children safe online, noting efforts to remove harmful actors and protect users. Eric Porterfield, Senior Director of Policy Communications at Roblox, released a separate statement to The Verge that repeated the company’s view that the lawsuit is based on misrepresentations and sensationalized claims. Porterfield also reported that Roblox has introduced more than 145 safety measures on the platform this year.

Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki told the BBC that parents who are uncomfortable with their children using the platform “should not let them use it,” stating that he trusts parents to make their own decisions. Roblox has introduced new age-verification features in recent years, including plans for ID checks, facial scans, and technology that estimates a player’s age using video selfies before they are allowed to communicate. Last year, the company also announced it would block users under 13 from messaging unless a parent or guardian grants permission.

International concerns have also arisen. Roblox has been banned in Turkey due to child exploitation concerns. In Singapore in 2023, the government reported that a self-radicalised 16-year-old joined ISIS-themed servers on Roblox. The teenager, one of two detained at the time, had joined servers replicating conflict zones such as those in Syria.

Texas’s lawsuit follows similar actions from other states. Louisiana filed a lawsuit in August alleging that Roblox permitted an environment in which child predators thrive. Kentucky filed a separate lawsuit describing the platform as a hunting ground for predators. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier recently issued a subpoena to Roblox over similar concerns. Multiple families and Roblox players have also filed lawsuits detailing abuse they experienced through the platform.