Child Safety Concerns Grow Over Roblox as Lawsuits and New Safeguards Emerge

If you have a child at home, there’s a good chance they’ve played Roblox, an online gaming platform where users build and play user-generated games, chat with others, and purchase virtual items. But the open-ended nature of the platform and its chat features have raised growing concerns about child safety, now fueling lawsuits and calls for stronger oversight.

Parents featured in recent reporting say they enabled parental controls and warned their children about online dangers, yet still encountered troubling situations. In one case, a family discovered their child had been communicating with someone they believed was another minor, who turned out to be an adult. Reporters who registered as a 10-year-old user said they quickly found games featuring violent themes and inappropriate language, including imagery not intended for children.

Even some young users are speaking out. Fifteen-year-old Mason Hebden launched a petition calling for accountability from Roblox leadership, citing inappropriate avatars and content that he says should not be accessible to kids. The petition calls for action from Roblox CEO and co-founder Dave Baszucki and has gathered thousands of signatures.

Roblox says it relies on automated tools and moderation systems to block harmful content, but emphasizes those measures work best when paired with parental involvement. The company is now rolling out age-gating technology that uses facial scanning to estimate a user’s age, limiting chat access to others within the same age range. Roblox says additional monitoring will flag unusual behavior and trigger further checks if needed.

The company is also facing dozens of lawsuits, including actions brought by at least four states, alleging failures to adequately protect children on the platform.

Experts recommend parents register children in the correct age range, link child accounts to a parent account, limit chat to approved friends, monitor gameplay, and keep open lines of communication. As one parent noted, completely banning online games isn’t always realistic, making preparation and awareness essential parts of modern parenting.

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