By Dexerto | Created at 2026-08-14 13:18:12 | Updated at 2026-08-14 16:39:22
4 hours ago
The US Senate has officially launched an investigation into Roblox, with concerns surrounding child safety on the platform.
Recently, Roblox has faced growing scrutiny over how it handles child safety, particularly when it comes to communication between minors and adults. Several lawsuits and investigations have accused Roblox of failing to prevent grooming, exploitation, and access to inappropriate content.
Roblox has repeatedly defended its safety systems and introduced several changes in response, like making users complete an age check before accessing chat and launching dedicated Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts for users under 16 to restrict access to certain experiences.
However, lawmakers are now demanding more information about how those systems work and whether Roblox is doing enough to protect its youngest users.
US Senate opens Roblox child safety investigation
As first reported by Politico, Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin have launched an investigation into Roblox’s handling of child safety across its online gaming platform.
Hawley and Durbin serve as the chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, and, in a letter sent to Roblox founder and CEO David Baszucki, the senators questioned whether the company’s business goals had taken priority over protecting children.
“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,” they wrote.
The lawmakers have asked Baszucki to provide documents explaining how Roblox handles child safety, sexual and physical abuse, bullying, and the financial exploitation of minors while also being directed to preserve all records connected to those subjects.
Their letter itself highlighted several high-profile cases involving adults who allegedly met children through Roblox before committing “serious acts of violence and harm.”
“Let us be clear: children on your platform are hurting,” Hawley and Durbin wrote. “Congress will not look the other way.”
Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman responded by defending the company’s approach: “Roblox is built on the foundation of safety. We do not compromise on that commitment,” he said. “We look forward to sharing the facts about how we work to protect children on the platform.”
Roblox has until August 31 to respond to the senators’ requests.
