Florida AG sues Roblox, claiming it misled parents and exposed kids to predators

Florida sues Roblox over child safety

A 76-page lawsuit has been filed against Roblox by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, accusing the company of failing to protect children and misleading families about the platform’s safety.

TAMPA, Fla. - Florida’s Attorney General is taking Roblox to court, alleging the company created an environment where adults can easily pose as children, contact minors and lure them into unsafe interactions.

What we know:

The lawsuit says investigators created accounts for kids ages 7, 8 and 10. According to the filing, all three were immediately able to enter thousands of games without parental approval, including titles like "Survive the Killer," "Murder Your Friends," and experiences modeled after Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.

The complaint also cites hundreds of accounts using variations of Epstein’s name and thousands of explicit Roblox avatar videos posted on pornography websites.

The state says predators used the platform to identify children, gain their trust, and transition conversations to apps like Discord or Snapchat, where they then pressured them to send explicit images. The lawsuit lists several Florida cases where minors were groomed, kidnapped or assaulted by adults they met on Roblox.

READ: Pasco Schools launches incentives to solve bus driver shortage as students arrive late for class

The Attorney General argues Roblox violated Florida’s consumer protection laws and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data from children under 13 without verified parental consent. 

"Roblox is hiding behind press releases and superficial safety measures while predators are openly grooming and targeting children on its platform," Uthmeier posted from his X account Thursday.  "As our criminal investigation continues, we filed a lawsuit to hold Roblox accountable for misrepresenting the platform’s safety."

The other side:

Roblox has not commented on this specific lawsuit but has previously said it is committed to safety and recently expanded its facial age-check tools to help verify users for chat features.

Why you should care:

Roblox is one of the most widely used gaming platforms in the world, especially among young children. The lawsuit claims the dangers described are not isolated incidents but reflect system-wide failures that could affect millions of families.

What's next:

Florida is seeking civil penalties and a court order requiring Roblox to implement stronger safety measures, including real age verification, limits on adult contact and tighter screening of user-created games.