US Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin have introduced that Roblox would be the topic of a congressional investigation amid claims that the gaming platform is a risk to little one security.
“You trumpet Roblox as a protected digital playground for youngsters as younger as 5,” the pair wrote in an open letter. “However the public report raises critical questions on this promise of security. Over the previous decade, police have arrested quite a few people for committing critical acts of violence and hurt towards kids they met by way of Roblox, together with grooming, sexual abuse, kidnapping, rape, and even homicide. Roblox is getting used to commerce little one sexual abuse materials, take part in sexually specific–and sometimes violent–digital ‘experiences’ with kids, bribe and extort kids into producing specific content material, and lure kids into in-person conferences. It’s heartbreaking.”
“Roblox seems to prioritize income and engagement metrics over the security and well-being of our youngsters, and the alleged prison exercise on Roblox warrants congressional scrutiny. Allow us to be clear: kids in your platform are hurting. Congress is not going to look the opposite method.”
Hawley (a Republican from Missouri) and Durbin (a Democrat from Illinois) added that Roblox reported 65,381 cases of suspected little one sexual exploitation to the Nationwide Middle for Lacking & Exploited Youngsters in 2025, greater than doubling what it reported in 2024. Headed by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, Roblox Company has been instructed to protect its information and switch over sure paperwork by August 31.
The investigation may even require Roblox CEO David Baszucki to supply proof as to how Roblox will higher police itself.
“Roblox is constructed on the muse of security. We don’t compromise on that dedication,” Roblox’s chief security officer Matt Kaufman mentioned in an announcement (by way of Politico). “We stay up for sharing the info about how we defend kids on the platform.”
Roblox has been the topic of great scrutiny not too long ago. Australian lawmakers have it of their crosshairs over stories of grooming and sexual content material, Florida’s Lawyer Basic has described it as a breeding floor for predators, and the Lawyer Basic of Texas sued The Roblox Company over child-exploitation accusations.
Earlier this 12 months, Roblox Company agreed to pay greater than $12 million to the state of Nevada as a part of a transfer to create a safer atmosphere for its younger customers, however different areas, equivalent to the UK, have prompt drastic options to guard kids on-line.