U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin are opening a congressional investigation into Roblox over allegations of sexual abuse on the platform. The inquiry is a bipartisan effort led by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism. The senators sent a letter to Roblox founder and CEO David Baszucki, criticizing explicit content present in the game and its connection to real-world child abuse.
“You trumpet Roblox as a safe digital playground for children as young as five. But the public record raises serious questions about this promise of safety,” the letter reads. “Over the past decade, police have arrested numerous individuals for committing serious acts of violence and harm against children they met via Roblox, including grooming, sexual abuse, kidnapping, rape, and even murder.”
The letter continues, “Roblox is being used to trade child sexual abuse material, participate in sexually explicit (and often violent) virtual ‘experiences’ with children, bribe and extort children into producing explicit content, and lure children into in-person meetings. It is heartbreaking. In 2025, Roblox reported 65,381 instances of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children—more than double what it reported in 2024.”
“Roblox appears to prioritize revenue and engagement metrics over the safety and well-being of our children, and the alleged criminal activity on Roblox warrants congressional scrutiny.” The letter concludes with “Let us be clear: children on your platform are hurting. Congress will not look the other way. We await your prompt and complete response.”
This isn’t the first time Roblox has been subject to public scrutiny. In a lawsuit filed on April 21, 2025, a Florida teenager sued Roblox and Discord for enabling sexual abuse and exploitation. Her lawyers cited Bloomberg’s reporting on the matter, which details multiple instances of alleged exploitation on the platform, including one instance where the FBI arrested a former Roblox player for grooming a 15-year-old girl.
Nevada previously reached a $12 million settlement with Roblox, which required the studio to increase in-game youth protections. In early 2025, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the company. Roblox was also sued by Louisiana for creating a platform where “child predators thrive.”
In recent years, Roblox Corporation has attempted to make changes to its game, including limiting how much players can customize avatars, something frequently used to create inappropriate images. Roblox instituted a controversial change in late 2025 that requires players to upload a selfie and perform an ID check to verify their age.
