Is Roblox Safe for Kids? Nebraska Says No, and Now It's Suing

Image via Roblox

Nebraska's Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, alleging that the platform has exposed children to predators, inappropriate content, and misleading safety claims.

The suit was filed by Attorney General Mike Hilgers in the District Court of Adams County, Nebraska. It accuses Roblox of violating the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act and the Nebraska Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, both of which restrict misleading business practices.

At its core, the case argues that Roblox built a thriving business on the trust of families while quietly failing to protect the children using it.

Roblox, which launched in 2004 and saw a massive surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, currently reports around 151 million daily active users. The platform allows developers to create and host their own games and experiences. With over 6.4 million user-created experiences available, the sheer scale of the platform makes moderation a serious challenge.

However, the lawsuit points out that Roblox retains control over content warnings, age restrictions, and handling user complaints, which means the responsibility ultimately sits with the company.

According to the suit, children under 13 have been able to access content including digital strip clubs, an "Epstein's Island" experience where fictional underage sexual activity reportedly takes place, and Sean "Diddy" Combs themed content. Predators have allegedly used the platform to groom minors, luring them with in-game currency Robux, before blackmailing them into further inappropriate acts.

"Roblox has built a multibillion-dollar business on the trust of families, all while creating a playground for predators and exposing children to graphic and dangerous content," Hilgers said. "Our office will not tolerate companies that endanger kids and mislead the public."

One of the more alarming technical failures cited in the lawsuit involves Roblox's AI-powered age verification system. As per the suit, the system collapsed last year, incorrectly placing adults in children's chat groups and vice versa. On top of that, widely known workarounds for bypassing the age verification system have been circulating for some time, further undermining its effectiveness.

Furthermore, a basic search for the word "adult" reportedly led investigators to a group of over 3,000 members openly trading child pornography, which then connected to a larger network of around 103,000 users engaged in similar criminal activity.

The lawsuits also brought up some incidents.

• A 15-year-old from Adams County alleged that an adult posing as a 14-year-old in a housing-themed Roblox game arranged a meeting in person and sexually assaulted them.

• In May last year, federal prosecutors in New York charged 40-year-old Tony Rodriguez for possession of child pornography and using Roblox to solicit minors, including girls aged 11 and 13.

• Roblox has also reportedly been used by the child exploitation network known as "764" to target vulnerable children. Tragically, a 16-year-old girl died by suicide last February following a grooming campaign reportedly traced back to the platform. Her father later noted that despite using parental tools and periodically monitoring her activity, he was unaware of just how deep Roblox's social and messaging features ran.

Roblox has pushed back on the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the company stated, "While we share Attorney General Hilgers' commitment to keeping kids and teens safe online, we are disappointed that he is choosing to file a lawsuit that fundamentally misrepresents how Roblox works."

The spokesperson also highlighted existing safety measures, including filters against personal information sharing, age-based chat restrictions, and cooperation with law enforcement.

That said, this lawsuit is far from an isolated incident. Attorneys general from South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Iowa have all launched legal probes against Roblox in recent months, several of which have already turned into formal lawsuits. A 2024 report by Hindenburg Research called the platform an "X-rated pedophile hellscape." Australia's government has also sought an urgent meeting with Roblox over child safety concerns.

On top of all that, the platform is currently facing roughly 80 child exploitation suits and 100 addiction cases filed by parents across the country.

Hilgers is now seeking damages and asking the court to stop Roblox from continuing "unfair, deceptive, and misleading conduct" within Nebraska.