[Note: This article deals with difficult topics, including child sexual abuse, suicide, kidnapping, rape and pornography.]
Popular free-to-play gaming site Roblox is in the news once again, though not for reasons for which any company hopes.
On Aug. 14, the Louisiana Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that the site cultivates an environment that knowingly endangers children.
The lawsuit comes following many warnings and tragedies centered around the gaming platform and as a result of public outcry against sexual predators who use the site. And the public is likewise outraged by Roblox’s decision to ban a YouTuber whose platform centered around conducting sting operations to get such people arrested.
For those who haven’t kept up with recent news about the site, this may come as a surprise. Roblox, after all, is a household name for many families, and it stands as one of the world’s most popular kid-centric gaming platforms. That’s why we’ve gone ahead and consolidated the relevant background information of this case below. We hope it will give parents and discerning young gamers the information they need to make good decisions regarding Roblox.
Roblox’s Release and Parental Controls
On Sept. 1, 2006, Roblox was released to the public. Hosting millions of user-created games, it became particularly popular with younger demographics: Data from December 2024 indicates that at least 40% of Roblox’s users are under the age of 13, and 56% are 16 or younger.
Roblox continued to grow in popularity throughout the years. The platform expanded onto Xbox, PlayStation and smartphones. And its user base greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the website hosts more than 80 million users.
It should be noted that Roblox features a variety of parental controls, which include communication controls and blocked “experiences” (Roblox’s term for its games). The game also prevents those under 13 from accessing certain chat features or mature-rated, user-created games.
Still, Roblox notes that these are only designed for children under the age of 13. After that, parents lose many parental control options, and the restrictions they may have put in place change without their consent, too. Those older than 13 have much more freedom and are allowed to use previously restricted features, the most notable being:
- Adding their email or phone number to their Roblox account
- Direct messaging other users on Roblox
- Using voice chat after verifying a phone number
The Rise of Inappropriate Games and Roblox Dating
Part of Roblox’s popularity came because of its foundational mechanic: that players make the games. Unfortunately, such freedom also makes the site prime for bad-faith actors.
In 2023, Roblox noted a large increase in its 17-to-24-years-old player base. In response, the platform gave users the ability to create content for older audiences and expanded its guidelines to include those aged 17 and older—a status that must be verified by supplying a selfie and a photo of a government-issued ID.
“Creators will be able to offer experiences for those 17 and older that feature more mature themes and storylines like in TV shows or stand-up comedy,” Roblox announced. “These experiences may contain more violence, blood, or crude humor.”
As you can imagine, these newer standards are at least partially responsible for the graphic content that can be found on Roblox. However, that’s not where most of its problems originated:
For years, parents and gamers alike warned of inappropriate games uploaded to Roblox. For instance, “Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe”depicted the player’s avatar removing their pants and using the bathroom, all while other players watched. Other games with jarring titles referencing child sexual abuse material, including games referencing Jeffrey Epstein, drew thousands and thousands of clicks. Though games like these were often reported by users, they nevertheless remained on the site for years, sometimes accessible not just to users 17 and older but also to those under the age of 13. And unfortunately, it’s still happening.
Prominent Roblox YouTuber KreekCraft recently complained about “MeepCity,” a popular social hangout game on the platform, stating that despite MeepCity’s popularity and countless reports over the years, Roblox had never fixed the user-created game’s main issue: customized player skins. For years, these skins could make player avatars appear to have genitalia or display animated pictures of sex. (A few days after KreekCraft’s public complaint, Roblox eventually got around to removing that issue from MeepCity).
Other games, known as “condo games,” have emerged, too. In these games, chat threads contain crude language, and player models are frequently depicted as naked and engaging in simulated virtual sex with each other (as well as the LEGO-like avatars can). Many condo games likewise contain links to join Discord channels, taking users offsite to unsupervised chat rooms and voice calls. These games—though Roblox does make intentional efforts to take them down—remain a persistent thorn in the platform’s side.
Juxtaposing these inappropriate games was Roblox CEO David Baszucki’s ambitions for the site to cater less to kids and more to adults. Citing the increasing percentage of older users joining Roblox, Baszucki spoke of plans to expand Roblox into a virtual dating platform for adults, only accessible to users aged 21 and up.
When the BBC asked about concerns that some parents may have regarding the content their kids could find on Roblox, Baszucki said, “My first message would be, if you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox.”
Sadly, though Roblox has yet to incorporate online-dating features, that seemingly nonchalant response can indicate to some the issues inherent in the site for children.
The Virtual Becomes Real
Unfortunately, as Roblox has grown in popularity, so too have reported cases of child sexual abuse and CSAM that initially originated on the platform. Sometimes predators meet their victims through the platform. Other times, they send hundreds of Robux (Roblox’s virtual currency) to entice their victims.
In Kansas, a 13-year-old girl was kidnapped from her home by a 33-year-old man she had met while playing Roblox. In another case, a 17-year-old Floridian was arrested after tricking many children on Roblox to send him sexually explicit pictures of themselves. Another report out of Michigan tells a similar story. And the Chicago-based law firm Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley is currently representing “over 400 alleged victims of abuse on platforms like Roblox and Discord.”
Don’t be fooled into thinking that these are isolated incidents, either. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation describes Roblox as a “mainstream contributor to sexual exploitation.” Financial researcher Hindenburg Research conducted an analysis of the platform, claiming that it “easily found 38 Roblox groups—one with 103,000 members—openly soliciting sexual favors and trading child pornography.”And global media conglomerate Bloomberg published an article last year entitled “Roblox’s Pedophile Problem,” unpacking even more cases of CSAM and child sexual abuse that occurred on the platform.
Schlep and Roblox
Such cases have also inspired gamers to target predators and bad actors, getting them banned from Roblox or even arrested.
One such person is YouTuber Schlep. The creator, a 22-year-old man known only by his first name, Michael, says he was groomed on Roblox by a prominent Roblox developer when he was younger. Following a suicide attempt, Michael’s mother allegedly reached out to the company for help but found none. This experience prompted Michael to use his YouTube channel to catch predators who use Roblox. His channel documents several To Catch a Predator-style takedowns, which have resulted in the arrests of six alleged child predators to date. In his videos, he acquires the assistance of local police and sends the collected data to Roblox so they can ban the profiles.
However, on Aug. 9, 2025, following Michael’s sixth takedown, he received a cease-and-desist letter from Roblox, informing him that his account and claiming that his actions were in violation of Roblox policies. The company alleged that Michael was engaging in vigilantism, claiming it created an unsafe environment for all users. Roblox also took issue with Michael for “engaging in simulated child endangerment conversations” and “directing users to move conversation off platform.” Michael has denied that any of his actions can be described via these claims.
Following his ban, Michael’s case exploded online as many rallied behind the YouTuber with the hashtag #FreeSchlep. The YouTuber received praise for his bravery and reporting. Meanwhile, Roblox faced heavy scrutiny for what many saw as an active dismissal of a man working to protect child players from the same childhood abuse he had experienced on the site.
In response to the cease-and-desist letter, Michael has stated intentions to sue Roblox with help from the aforementioned Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley. He has also partnered with Chris Hansen, the popular host of To Catch a Predator,who recently announced his plans to expose Roblox in a new documentary.
Roblox Repercussions and the Louisiana Lawsuit
Michael’s story reached national news—even gaining bipartisan government support. Members from both parties both stated their support for Michael and their plans to increase child safety measures on the site.
And, as mentioned earlier, the Louisiana Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Roblox on Aug. 14 for what she sees as reckless child endangerment on the company’s part.
“Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue and profits over child safety,” Murrill said in a statement. “Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger [posed] to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their own home.”
The lawsuit states that Roblox must be held accountable for the alleged “facilitation and distribution of child sexual abuse material (‘CSAM’) and for the sexual exploitation of Louisiana’s minor children through [its] interactive online gaming service Roblox.” It cites the aforementioned condo games, as well as a report that Roblox “actively hosted over 600 ‘Diddy’ games” (referring to rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was arrested on charges of sex trafficking last year) and “hosted on its severs [sic] games like ‘Escape to Epstein Island.’”
In response to the lawsuit, Roblox released a statement denying the charges, claiming that “any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue.” The company supported its statement with examples of how the platform works to keep its site safe. It also recently unveiled a new AI system called Sentinel, built to detect inappropriate conversations on its platform.
Your Response to Roblox
Despite Roblox’s attempts to moderate its platform, these examples show that there’s still a real danger for users, especially minors. Roblox insists that “tens of millions of people have a positive, enriching and safe experience on Roblox every day.” But the question facing parents—the question you’ll need to ask yourself before letting your child use the platform—remains the same: Is Roblox doing enough to protect your child, to ensure he or she remains listed among the site’s positive statistics, or not?
You can read our review of Roblox here.
