LA County sues Roblox over alleged child safety failures

• County leaders say rising exploitation cases have forced public agencies to divert more resources.
• Los Angeles is seeking civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day per violation.
• Roblox has strongly rejected the allegations and vows to fight the case.

Los Angeles County has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, alleging the platform has “failed to protect children from predatory behaviour” despite marketing itself as a safe digital space.

The complaint claims children have been repeatedly exposed to sexually explicit content, exploitation and grooming, arguing that Roblox’s design and moderation systems allow adults to target minors, impersonate children and build influence through repeated interactions.

The county said it has had to divert and increase resources to deal with rising cases of child sexual exploitation, trafficking, abuse and related mental health trauma.

“By taking actions that increase the costs of law enforcement, child protective services, victim services, mental health counselling, and other public services, Roblox has diverted taxpayer dollars away from other critical public programmes and services," the suit has alleged.

Regulatory crackdown

County officials claimed Roblox prioritises profit over safety and accused the company of unfair and deceptive business practices. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, abatement and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each alleged violation.

However, Roblox has rejected the county’s allegations and plans to fight the lawsuit aggressively.

“Roblox is built with safety at its core, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day," a company spokesperson said. 

“We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications, and users cannot send or receive images via chat, avoiding one of the most prevalent opportunities for misuse seen elsewhere online."

The action follows similar scrutiny from Australian authorities and comes as Roblox rolls out expanded safety measures, including a Global Parent Council and mandatory age verification for chat.

CEO David Baszucki was challenged over child safety concerns late last year, which led to a heated debate.