Roblox, one of the most popular online platforms for children, is under growing pressure over how it keeps young users safe.
Over the past year, state attorneys general, local governments, and parents have pressed the company on the same question: whether it does enough to protect children from predators, inappropriate content, and unsafe contact with strangers.
In April, Reuters reported that Roblox agreed to pay more than $23 million to settle child-safety investigations brought by Alabama and West Virginia. The settlements require the company to verify users’ ages and to restrict chat for users under 16. According to Reuters, Roblox also faces more than 140 federal lawsuits and additional state actions tied to child-safety concerns.
The West Virginia investigation found that young users had been exposed to predators, grooming, and sexual and violent content, Reuters reported, citing the state attorney general’s office. Part of the West Virginia settlement is expected to fund a child-safety specialist, workshops for parents and children, and a parent awareness campaign.
The pressure is not limited to those two states. In February, Los Angeles County sued Roblox, accusing the platform of unfair and deceptive business practices that endanger and exploit children. The county alleged that Roblox markets itself as a safe space for creativity while failing to protect children from predatory behavior and inappropriate content. It also pointed to the platform’s large young audience, noting that more than 40% of users are reported to be under 13.
New accounts, more parental controls
Roblox, for its part, has been expanding its safety tools. Parents magazine reported that the company rolled out new age-based accounts in June 2026: Roblox Kids, for ages 5 to 8, and Roblox Select, for ages 9 to 15. The accounts are designed to give parents more control over the content children see, who they can talk to, how long they play, and what they can spend.
Elizabeth Milovidov, Roblox’s senior director of parental advocacy, told Parents that the most important step is to complete the age check and link a parent account, so children are placed in the right safety settings. She also encouraged parents to play alongside their children — both to understand what they are doing online and to build trust.
For families, the larger takeaway is that online gaming is no longer only play. Many of the games children love are social spaces where they interact with others in real time, which puts gaming safety alongside screen time, social media, privacy, and online communication as part of everyday parenting. The lawsuits and account rules will keep changing; the steadier work for parents is knowing where their children spend time online and staying close enough to guide them.
