Texas AG files lawsuit against Roblox, accusing it of prioritizing ‘pedophiles’ over children’s safety

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said late Thursday he is filing a lawsuit against online gaming platform Roblox over child safety concerns, accusing the company of “deceiving parents about the dangers of its platform.”

In a statement, Paxton claimed Roblox had chosen to prioritize “pedophiles” and profit over children’s safety, and said the platform had become a “breeding ground for predators.”

“We cannot allow platforms like Roblox to continue to serve as digital playgrounds for predators,” Paxton said. “Roblox must do more to protect children from the sick and twisted freaks who hide behind the screen. Any company that allows child abuse will face the full, unrelenting force of the law.”

Paxton’s lawsuit follows similar cases brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Kentucky, as well as multiple cases in California, Texas, and Pennsylvania against Roblox. The company has been repeatedly criticized for not implementing adequate child safety measures and exposing minors to risks such as grooming, explicit content, and violent or offensive material.

In light of such cases and investigations, governments around the world are introducing increasingly stringent laws and regulations that require social platforms to verify users’ ages, such as the UK’s Online Safety Act and Mississippi’s Age Guarantee Act. Other states, including Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota and Virginia, are considering similar laws.

So far, the company has responded by adding a slew of safety features, including an age estimation system that scans users’ personal photos and analyzes facial features to estimate age; Standardized content and maturity designations; an artificial intelligence system to detect early signs of child endangerment; Guarantees for teenagers; Content controls, and more. The company also offers parental controls, tools to restrict communications, and technology that detects when a large number of users break its rules.

Roblox had 151.5 million daily active users as of September 30, 2025.

Roblox said it has implemented “industry-leading protocols” to protect users and address malicious activity, and noted that it is “disappointed” by the lawsuit. “We are disappointed that instead of working collaboratively with Roblox on this industry-wide challenge and seeking real solutions, the AG chose to file a lawsuit based on sensationalist misrepresentations and allegations,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“Roblox is deeply committed to children’s safety. Our policies are intentionally stricter than those on many other platforms,” the spokesperson said. “We prohibit the sharing of photos and videos in chat, we use filters designed to prevent the sharing of personal information, and our trained teams and automated tools continuously monitor communications to detect and remove harmful content.”

Note: This story has been updated to add Roblox comments.