The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism announced an investigation into child safety on Roblox. In a letter to CEO David Baszucki, Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin said the company “appears to prioritize revenue and engagement metrics over the safety and well-being of children.”
In the letter, the lawmakers say that over the past decade, police have arrested several people for serious crimes against children they met through the platform, including grooming, sexual abuse, kidnapping, rape, and murder. They also cite the use of Roblox to exchange child sexual abuse material, take part in sexually explicit virtual experiences with children, extortion, and in-person meetings.
The subcommittee ordered Roblox to preserve all records related to child safety, abuse, and “financial exploitation.” The company must turn over the requested documents and information by the end of August 2026. “Let's be clear: children on your platform are being harmed. Congress will not look the other way,” the letter concludes.
Roblox's response
Roblox said the increase in reports of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), from 65,381 in 2025, more than double the number in 2024, reflects the company's effort to improve its systems.
In a statement, the company said it is “built on a foundation of safety,” that it does not compromise that commitment, and that it hopes to share the facts about how it works to protect children on the platform.
Growing pressure
The Senate investigation adds to the pressure on Roblox, which already faces lawsuits from Louisiana, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Los Angeles County, Australia, and the United Kingdom over alleged systemic failures to protect children.
In recent months, the company tightened restrictions on games without age ratings, began using age verification and restricted accounts to try to stop minors from accessing inappropriate content. In 2025, Baszucki said the predator problem on the platform was “not just a problem, but an opportunity.”
