Child advocacy groups urge FTC probe into Roblox safety claims
Child advocates asked the FTC to scrutinize Roblox, saying its design pushes kids toward spending and risky chat as the platform faces 140-plus federal lawsuits.
Two child advocacy groups pressed the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Roblox, arguing that the platform’s design and marketing steer younger users toward spending and unsafe interactions. Fairplay and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said Roblox misleads families about how safe the service is and pressures children to buy special in-game privileges.
The complaint lands as Roblox faces more than 140 federal lawsuits accusing the company of knowingly facilitating child sexual exploitation. The new request sharpens the policy stakes beyond one company’s reputation: it asks whether a platform built for children can sell digital status, social access and entertainment inside the same product without crossing the line into unfair or deceptive conduct.
Roblox has pushed back by pointing to a series of safety measures. On Jan. 7, 2026, the company said U.S. users had to complete an age check before chatting, with the requirement set to roll out globally wherever chat is available. Roblox said its facial age-estimation process deletes images immediately after processing, and that chat is age-banded so users can communicate by default only with adjacent age groups. The company has also said it launched more than 145 safety innovations since January 2025.
The FTC’s own FOIA records show Roblox has already generated multiple complaint files, including a March 3, 2026 request and released documents labeled for child safety, online predators, online privacy and consumer complaints. Fairplay said the FTC request was supported by Jonathan Haidt’s Anxious Generation Movement, ParentsSOS and the Consumer Federation of America, signaling a broader coalition of parents, consumer advocates and online safety campaigners behind the push.
The agency declined to comment. For regulators, the Roblox case has become a test of how far child-safety oversight should reach on immersive platforms where children can talk, play and spend money in the same environment. The outcome could shape wider standards for kids’ digital design, including how aggressively platforms market virtual goods, how they verify age and how much responsibility they bear when social features and monetization are intertwined.
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