Texas Is Latest State To Sue Roblox Over Child Safety
Topline
Texas is the third state in recent weeks to file a lawsuit against the popular online gaming platform Roblox, accusing it of operating a “digital playground that conceals predators,” as the platform faces growing controversy and lawsuits from families who say it hasn’t done enough to protect the platform’s large constituency of young users.
Roblox defended banning “vigilante” users in a blog post Wednesday. (Photo Illustration by Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in Texas district court, his office announced in a release Friday, alleging the gaming company broke deceptive business practices law by falsely advertising itself as a safe platform for children.
Paxton accused the platform of deliberately marketing itself to children and teenagers while lacking proper safety protocols to guard against child exploitation, noting many of the user-created games available on the platform have ranged from “explicitly sexual content (often involving pedophilia) to Nazi propaganda and violent extremism.”
The suit accuses Roblox of making it easy for children to communicate with adult users, claiming the company’s implementation of stricter parental controls in November 2024—which restricted the ability of users under 13 to message others—could be easily “bypassed by creating an alternate account that identified as a user over 13 years old.”
“Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks hiding behind a screen,” Paxton said in a statement.
The lawsuit echoes claims made by attorneys general for Louisiana and Kentucky, both of whom filed lawsuits against Roblox in recent weeks, as well as increasing criticism on social media and a growing number of lawsuits from families who say their children were targeted by predators on the gaming platform.
Roblox told Forbes in a statement it shares Paxton’s “commitment to keeping kids and teens safe,” but said it is “disappointed” he chose to file a lawsuit instead of working collaboratively on solutions, adding the company has added 145 safety features this year, including an AI-powered tool to identify early signs of child endangerment, and will soon implement age estimation technology preventing adults from chatting with minors.
Why Did Louisiana And Kentucky Sue Roblox?
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced in August she filed a lawsuit against Roblox in state court, stating it is “overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety.” She said some user-created games that have existed on Roblox include titles like “Escape to Epstein Island, Diddy Party, and Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe.” Murrill said police searched the home of a Livingston Parish, Louisiana man suspected of having child sexual abuse material over the summer, alleging he was a Roblox user who possessed voice-altering technology to make him sound like a young female. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman sued the gaming company in October, claiming “children are not safe on Roblox” while similarly accusing it of failing to warn parents about potential dangers for young users and lacking proper safety protocols. In response to both lawsuits, Roblox denied it puts young users in danger and pointed to its recently implemented safety features. Rep. Rho Khanna, D-Calif., said in a TikTok in August that Roblox is “not doing enough” to address child predators, and he published a petition on his website urging Roblox to “do more to protect children.”
