US Senate Investigates Roblox: Child Safety Under Scrutiny

The US Senate's Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee has initiated an investigation into Roblox, expressing concerns that the platform may be prioritizing revenue and user engagement over the safety of children.

Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin, in a letter to Roblox CEO David Baszucki, stated that "alleged criminal activity on Roblox warrants congressional scrutiny." They questioned the platform's claims of being a safe digital environment for young children, given the public record.

In response, Roblox's Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman asserted that safety is a foundational principle for the platform and that they are committed to protecting children. He expressed anticipation in sharing the facts about their safety measures.

Roblox has been requested to provide comprehensive documentation by August 31, 2026. This includes records pertaining to child safety, instances of sexual or physical abuse, bullying, and financial exploitation. The committee is seeking data on reports received in 2023, 2024, and 2025 concerning the sexual exploitation, predation, or abuse of users under 18, along with details on how Roblox addresses these reports and the number of accounts banned for such behavior.

Further inquiries include the percentage of allegations reviewed by human moderators, the proportion of reported accounts that resulted in bans, the number of bullying reports involving minors in the specified years, and the corresponding investigation and ban rates.

The senators highlighted a concerning trend, noting that "over the past decade, police have arrested numerous individuals for committing serious acts of violence and harm against children they met via Roblox," including grooming, sexual abuse, kidnapping, rape, and murder.

The platform's own report indicates a significant increase in suspected child exploitation cases, with over 65,000 reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025, more than double the figure from 2024.

"Roblox is being used to trade child sexual abuse material, participate in sexually explicit (and often violent) virtual 'experiences' with children, bribe and extort children into producing explicit content, and lure children into in-person meetings. It is heartbreaking," the senators stated, emphasizing, "children on your platform are hurting. Congress will not look the other way."

This federal investigation follows similar legal actions by several US states and jurisdictions, including Louisiana and Los Angeles County, which have sued Roblox over child endangerment concerns. The Australian government has also voiced similar issues, describing them as a significant concern for Australian parents.

Roblox has implemented several new safety features in recent years, such as restricting direct messaging for users under 13, introducing global facial recognition for chat features, a "sensitive issues" content tag, and enhanced moderation policies.