Oklahoma Sues Roblox, Calls It a “Hunting Ground for Child Predators”

Oklahoma is the latest state to sue Roblox — a popular gaming platform with nearly 50 million daily players under the age of 13 — over child safety concerns. In his May 2026 filing, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described Roblox as "a hunting ground for child predators" that "consistently sacrificed child safety in favor of exponential user growth and attendant profit." 

Thirteen other states have either filed lawsuits against Roblox or opened investigations into the company's child safety allegations. Here's what parents need to know. 

Roblox is the most popular gaming platform among U.S. children aged 8 to 12. It allows users to create and share their own games (known in Roblox as "experiences").

More than 44 million experiences exist in Roblox, ranging from innocent and child-friendly to violent and sexually-explicit. 

Roblox experiences receive maturity ratings that, in theory, prevent children from viewing inappropriate content. But in reality, children still can and do access these experiences, and for some, it's traumatizing.

For example, The Guardian reported that a 7-year-old developed sleeping problems after an experience introduced a character as "Your Dad" and then shot and killed it. A 9-year-old needed therapy after her Roblox character was sexually assaulted.

Researchers have also overheard "other players verbalizing sexual activity, as well as repeated slurping, kissing and grunting noises" on Roblox's voice chat. 

Roblox players can talk to each other in several different ways (including text-based chats and microphones) inside and outside experiences. This exposes children to a variety of potential abuses. 

As the Oklahoma AG points out, child predators have been known to use Roblox to find and groom victims. Often, adults pose as children to earn a real child's trust. Eventually, the conversations become more explicit, and children are often coerced into sending nude photos. At least one child has died by suicide as a result of this abuse. 

The Oklahoma lawsuit also names a group known as 764 as one of the major threats to children on Roblox. It's a violent group that manipulates children into sharing explicit photos, inflicting self-harm,  abusing animals, taking their own life, or committing homicide. 

Extremist and terrorist groups also create experiences on Roblox as a recruitment strategy. A 2021 report described "playable versions of infamous far-right atrocities" on the platform. Terrorist groups continue to use Roblox today.  

"This is not a new or sudden problem; it is a long-standing failure to address a known threat," Whitney Ray Di Bona, an attorney and consumer safety advocate at Drugwatch, said. "Roblox has mainly argued that managing content moderation at such a large scale is difficult. However, this explanation becomes less convincing when the same types of extremist content appear year after year."

Roblox is currently facing at least 148 lawsuits in the United States, including nine originating from state governments. "While the lawsuits share common themes, each state has focused on different issues such as sexual exploitation, deceptive marketing, terrorist connections, child sexual abuse material distribution, or predators using fake identities," Di Bona said.

"Together, these cases give a much clearer view of the alleged failures than any single lawsuit could. Roblox isn't facing just one type of legal claim, but all of them at once." 

The lawsuits also say Roblox didn't do enough to ensure the safety of children on its platform. The Oklahoma lawsuit, for example, says Roblox knew child exploitation was happening on its platform and did nothing to stop or prevent it:

"Defendant repeatedly failed to implement basic safety controls to protect children, choosing instead to make affirmative, material representations and selective omissions which prevented, and continues to prevent, Roblox users and their parents from learning of the dangers inherent on the Roblox platform. [...]

"For two decades, Defendant could have placed barriers between its vulnerable child user base (and the parents and guardians of that user base) and the monstrous criminals lurking on Roblox. It did not." 

But failing to act is just one of many accusations outlined in these lawsuits. Di Bona says plaintiffs also claim that Roblox's design makes it inherently dangerous to children. "The platform was set up in ways that made it easy for predators to reach children, use Robux [platform currency] for grooming, and direct kids to less-monitored apps." 

Roblox has launched (or is planning to launch) new safety features designed to make the platform safer for kids. 

In late 2024, Roblox created a parental control dashboard for monitoring screen time and disabling direct messages. Since then, more parental controls have been added. Now, parents can also block specific experiences and users. 

Starting in June 2026, three types of accounts will be available: one for ages 5 to 8, one for ages 9 to 15, and one for ages 16+. Roblox says the different accounts will have "age checks, account-level defaults, content ratings, ongoing moderation, and expanded parental controls." 

Roblox uses facial recognition technology to check a user's age. Age checks are required to access chats, and chats can only happen between people of similar ages. Parents can also allow their child to chat with Trusted Connections. 

These changes are meant to make it harder for an adult to pose as a child in chat rooms, which sexual predators often do. However, critics say it's still not foolproof. For example, some say predators may have access to a child to use for facial recognition. 

"The new age-based accounts coming this summer should be given a real chance, but families and regulators are right to ask for proof that these changes actually work," Di Bona said. "The standard is no longer, 'We're trying.' The standard is, 'Children are actually safer.'"  

1. Play Roblox with your child. You'll see exactly what they see and know whether you need to block an experience or user, have a conversation, or shut the game down for a while.
2. Use the Roblox parental controls to monitor the experiences they visit a lot. Regularly visit those experiences yourself to vet them. This is a practical choice when you don't always have time to play alongside your child. 
3. Have an age-appropriate conversation about Roblox dangers and how to identify them. You might say, "If someone tries to make you feel bad or starts talking about body parts, tell a trusted adult."
4. Make a rule where all Roblox chats have to stay on Roblox. Your child can't talk to Roblox users elsewhere. Phone numbers, email addresses, real names, and social accounts all have to stay private.
5. Block Roblox in favor of a safer game. Minecraft is similar to Roblox but has some better safeguards for younger kids, like solo player mode. Many other choices exist. If needed, you can block access to specific apps and websites using WiFi- or device-based parental control systems.
6. Watch for signs that your child might have fallen prey to a child predator. According to the FBI, these include:
   • Sudden moodiness or irritability
   • Withdrawing from others
   • Neglecting appearance
   • Hiding parts of the body
   • Harming younger siblings or animals
   • Changes in eating or sleeping
   • Talking about self-harm, suicide, or "not being needed"
   • Scars or fresh wounds
   • Unexpected texts, calls, or gifts for the child

Although it's getting a lot of attention right now, Roblox isn't the only place where sexual predators target children. Virtually any website or app that allows chat, direct messaging, or user-generated content (like photos, videos, or art) can be dangerous for kids. Know what your child is doing online, have conversations about internet safety, use parental controls to enforce limits, and unplug now and then to promote safe and healthy habits.