Texas Sues Roblox Over Child “Exploitation And Grooming” Concerns

Following in Florida’s footsteps, Texas’s attorney general has sued Roblox Corporation, the developer of the multiplayer online game creation platform Roblox, for “flagrantly ignoring” laws and exposing children to “sexually explicit content, exploitation, and grooming.”

Ken Paxton, a Republican who’s been Texas’s AG since 2015 and is making a bid for U.S. Senate, announced the lawsuit in an X post on November 6. In the documentation, his office claimed Roblox Corporation was “flagrantly ignoring state and federal laws while deceiving parents about the dangers of its platform.” The suit continues, claiming that Paxton is taking action because “Roblox chose to put pixel pedophiles and corporate profit over the safety of Texas children.”

“We cannot allow platforms like Roblox to continue operating as digital playgrounds for predators where the well-being of our kids is sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed,” Paxton said. “Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks hiding behind a screen. Any corporation that enables child abuse will face the full and unrelenting force of the law.”

A Roblox Corporation spokesperson told the BBC on November 6 that the company was “disappointed” to receive the lawsuit, stating it’s all based on “misrepresentations and sensationalized claims.” The spokesperson went on to say that Roblox Corporation shares Paxton’s commitment to child safety and has introduced measures that remove bad actors and protect its users in Roblox.

Roblox has come under fire in recent years for its child safety concerns. A June 2024 Bloomberg investigation discovered an infestation of pedophiles on the platform that has a userbase largely composed of minors, prompting other AGs from Florida to Louisiana to Kentucky to file lawsuits. With two other known lawsuits sitting on Roblox Corporation’s desk, one in Georgia and another in St. Louis, the company has a lot of paperwork to respond to.