The U.S. state of Louisiana is suing Roblox, alleging it facilitates “the sexual exploitation of Louisiana’s children”.
In a statement, Louisiana Attorney General, Liz Murrill, claimed Roblox “endangers the safety of the children” of the state, writing: “Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritises user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety.
“Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger posed to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their own home.”
The legal papers then names several “highly inappropriate” Roblox mini games such as Escape to Epstein Island, Public Bathroom Simulator, and Diddy Party.
“These games and others are often filled with sexually explicit material and simulated sexual activity such as child gang rape. A recent report even revealed a group of 3,334 members openly traded child pornography and solicited sexual acts from minors,” the Louisiana announcement says, citing a 2024 report.
The lawsuit claims that while Roblox requires children to have permission from their parents or guardians to open an account, the company “does nothing to confirm or document that parental permission has been given, no matter how young a child is. Nor does Defendant require a parent to confirm the age given when a child signs up to use Roblox”.
“[Roblox] has access to biometric age verification software that requires the user to take a photo of a government-issued ID along with a real-time selfie photo that is then verified through artificial intelligence,” the AG adds. “However, while Defendant utilises this software for other purposes, Defendant intentionally does not utilise this feature when new accounts are created.”
In a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Murrill said: “So [Roblox] have chosen profits over child safety. It’s basically open season for sex predators on this app. For this reason, and all of the others that we’ve talked about today, Roblox is violating Louisiana law, and that’s why we filed this lawsuit.”
Roblox said it does not comment on pending litigation, but stressed “it would like to address erroneous claims and misconceptions about our platform, our commitment to safety, and our overall safety track record”.
“Every day, tens of millions of people around the world use Roblox to learn STEM skills, play, and imagine, and have a safe experience on our platform. Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue. No system is perfect, and bad actors adapt to evade detection, including efforts to take users to other platforms, where safety standards and moderation practices may differ. We continuously work to block those efforts and to enhance our moderation approaches to promote a safe and enjoyable environment for all users.”
It added that it is constantly innovating safety tools and launching new safeguards, has taken an industry-leading stance on age-based communication, and serves players of which 64 percent are aged 13 or over. It also dedicates substantial resources to help detect and prevent inappropriate content and behaviour, and collaborates with law enforcement and government agencies, as well as mental health organisations, child safety organisations, and parental advocacy groups “to keep users safe on the platform”.
“We know safety is critically important to families, and we strive to empower our community of parents and caregivers to help ensure a safe online experience for their children. This includes a suite of easy-to-use parental controls to provide parents with more control and clarity on what their kids and teens are doing on Roblox,” the statement concludes.
“We aim to create one of the safest online environments for users, a goal not only core to our founding values but contrary to certain assertions, one we believe is critical to our long-term vision and success. We understand there is always more work to be done, and we are committed to making Roblox a safe and positive environment for all users.”