Roblox corporation faces legal action for child exploitation and neglect of safety measures, asserts state attorney general.
The state of Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, a popular online gaming platform, alleging that the company knowingly enabled and facilitated systemic sexual exploitation and abuse of children on its platform while failing to adequately warn parents about online dangers.
The lawsuit, filed by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, accuses Roblox of creating, curating, and perpetuating an online environment where child sex predators thrive, unite, hunt, and victimize kids. The complaint highlights Roblox's lack of age verification and parental permission, which allows predators to pose as children and children to bypass age restrictions, contributing to child exploitation risks.
The lawsuit cites specific cases in Louisiana, including a July 2025 case involving a suspect using voice-altering software on Roblox to lure minors, and a report that thousands of users were involved in trading child pornography and soliciting minors.
Demands for Change
The state is asking Roblox to implement several changes aimed at protecting children more effectively, including setting default safety settings for users under 13 years old, applying better age estimation techniques, introducing clearer maturity labels for games, enhancing age verification, providing clearer warnings to parents about the risks of online predators, and restricting access to certain virtual experiences to verified users aged 17 and older.
Roblox has responded to the lawsuit by announcing stricter rules on sexual content, improved age verification, and new automated detection systems to filter inappropriate content. The company also emphasized recent safety innovations like over 40 new protective features, updated parental controls, and an age estimation technology using selfie videos for more accurate age confirmation. However, the lawsuit claims these measures remain insufficient to prevent exploitation.
The Impact on Parents and Children
Attorney General Liz Murrill urged parents to stay involved with their children's online activities and to contact police if they notice anything suspicious. She also criticized Roblox for lacking age verification and vowed not to stand by and watch the company exploit children and facilitate child sexual abuse for profit.
Roblox has more than 380 million monthly users, with over half of its players between the ages of 9 and 16. Some of the games on Roblox contain simulated sexual activity, including alleged depictions of child gang rape. Murrill believes that these games are part of the problem, not the solution.
[1] Louisiana Attorney General's Office Press Release
[2] Louisiana Sheriff's Office Press Release
[3] Roblox Press Release
- The Louisiana Attorney General's Office issued a press release, accusing Roblox of failing to address general-news issues such as child exploitation and sexual abuse, and calling for changes in the company's policies, including implementing stricter age verification, clearer maturity labels for games, and restricting access to certain virtual experiences to verified users.
- In the wake of the lawsuit, Roblox's crime-and-justice controversies have extended beyond the virtual world, reaching both the political and general-news spheres. Specifically, allegations of child exploitation and sexual abuse on the platform have led to investigations and public scrutiny, prompting calls for changes in the company's approach to policing inappropriate content.
