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| Roblox app displayed on an iPad, a platform now facing scrutiny over child safety concerns. |
Roblox, the immensely popular online platform for children, is at the center of a rapidly growing safety controversy. In recent days, multiple lawsuits—including a high-stakes action from Louisiana’s attorney general—have painted the platform as dangerously permissive toward sexual predators and inadequate in protecting its youngest users.
On August 14, 2025, Louisiana filed a lawsuit accusing Roblox of failing to implement basic safety measures. The suit alleges Roblox enabled child predators by neglecting age verification and parental controls, stating that the platform has become “the perfect place for pedophiles” to operate—as demonstrated by a case in which a suspect used voice-altering technology to masquerade as a young girl on Roblox. The state is seeking a permanent injunction and damages under its Unfair Trade Practices Act .
This suit comes amid an influx of legal challenges nationwide. A Georgia case details a nine-year-old boy’s ordeal involving grooming and psychological harm on the platform. Federal and state lawsuits—including one from Michigan—accuse Roblox of hosting games with sexual content, neglecting moderation of predator behavior, and allowing in-platform predators to groom children and solicit explicit content in exchange for virtual currency (Robux) .
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| Louisiana Attorney General addresses the press about the state’s lawsuit against Roblox over child safety concerns. |
Despite these allegations, Roblox disputes the claims. The company points to its investments in safety technology, such as human moderation, AI systems like “Sentinel,” content filtering, reporting tools, and video-based age verification as evidence of its commitment to user protection .
The legal pressure has led to tangible fallout. Roblox’s stock price has dropped significantly—declines of 6 % to 10 % have been noted—as investor confidence wavers on the heels of mounting regulatory and reputational risks .
The platform is also grappling with public backlash driven by its confrontation with a well-known “predator-hunting” YouTuber known as Schlep. After Roblox banned his accounts and issued a cease-and-desist, critics accused the company of stifling independent watchdog efforts. Schlep’s actions, which reportedly included aiding in several arrests, were framed by Roblox as potentially harmful vigilante behavior that violated platform rules. The controversy further fueled calls for the company’s leadership to resign and prompted a petition led by U.S. Representative Ro Khanna .
Across all these developments, a troubling portrait emerges: Roblox is under intense scrutiny for allegedly placing growth and profit ahead of child safety, and the platform now faces mounting pressure from legal authorities, watchdogs, lawmakers, and the investing public to tighten safeguards and restore trust.