LA County lawsuit accuses Roblox of exposing children to ‘grooming and exploitation’

Los Angeles County sued Roblox for “unfair and deceptive business practices,” saying the platform’s moderation and age verification systems are inadequate. “Roblox presents its platform as a safe and appropriate place for children to play,” the complaint states. “In reality, and as Roblox knows well, the design of its platform makes children easy prey for pedophiles.”

Representatives accused Roblox of failing to implement adequate safety features on the platform to prevent child endangerment. “Specifically, Roblox failed to effectively moderate in-game content or enforce age-appropriate restrictions and warnings established by the creators, thereby allowing predatory and inappropriate language and interactions between users to persist,” the county said. He also said the platform did not disclose any harm to children, including sexual content and the risk of predators.

Roblox rejected the allegations, saying the platform was built around security. “We have advanced protections that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications, and users cannot send or receive images through chat, preventing one of the most prevalent opportunities for misuse elsewhere online,” the company said at AFP.

The Los Angeles County complaint is the latest in a series of lawsuits filed in U.S. regions including Florida, Texas and Kentucky. Louisiana’s attorney general also accused the company of having a “lack of safety protocols” that put children’s safety at risk for the sake of “growth, revenue and profits.” The state’s lawsuit cites a specific example of a subject arrested last year who used voice-altering technology to imitate a younger female voice to lure and sexually exploit young gamers.

Roblox said it has around 144 million daily active users worldwide, more than 40% of whom are under 13 years old. However, he has been repeatedly accused of not doing enough to protect young players. In 2024, Roblox banned players under the age of 13 from accessing certain types of in-game content and restricted their ability to message with other players outside of specific games. Last year, the company also began asking tens of millions of children to verify their age with a selfie.