Kentucky attorney general sues Roblox, alleges platform enables child exploitation

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed a lawsuit recently against Roblox Inc., accusing the gaming and social media platform of failing to protect children from predators, allowing the distribution of child sexual abuse material and grooming, and effectively becoming a "playground for predators."

Coleman said more than two-thirds of U.S. children ages 9-12 use Roblox, and the platform's "cartoonish, innocent facade" masks danger. He warned exploitation on Roblox often escalates into real-world criminal activity.

"Today, as attorney general, I'm proud to announce the commonwealth of Kentucky has filed a lawsuit against Roblox for its knowing failure to protect children from the darkness that lurks on its platform," Coleman said.

The lawsuit — filed in a Kentucky court under claims including violation of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act — details how Roblox allegedly allowed features and environments that predators exploit, such as private messaging, inadequate age verification and environments where users can trade illicit content. Coleman's office argues that Roblox's safety measures are "anything but adequate."

The suit claims that Roblox's lax protections violate Kentucky's Consumer Protection Act and asks a judge to order the company into compliance. The suit seeks penalties of up to $2,000 for each violation of the consumer protection law.

Coleman said his office is open to negotiating a settlement with Roblox.

"Our goal is not to shut a platform down," Coleman said. "Our goal is for Roblox to be safe."

Coleman also cited internal weaknesses. Underage children could create accounts without parental consent or accurate age validation, and, once inside, there is minimal barrier to direct messaging with bad actors.

"One of our driving priorities has been to protect Kentucky families, protect our kids," Coleman said in the opening remarks of his news conference in Frankfort.

The suit further accuses Roblox of benefiting from its marketing to children — quoting that the platform built trust through its childlike interface, but behind the scenes, allowed a "playground for predators." Coleman noted that even Roblox employees admit they would not let their own children play on the platform given its shortcomings.

Jeremy Murrell, deputy commissioner for counter exploitation in the Kentucky Department of Criminal Investigations, echoed the urgency.

"The potential outcomes of this type of victimization include sextortion, suicide, self-harm, abduction and sexual assault," Murrell said. "This is not a national problem — this is happening right here in Kentucky."

Murrell urged hyper vigilance among parents, calling them to take a more active role in monitoring and safeguarding their children's online presence.

The company is facing a growing backlash. The Kentucky suit comes after Louisiana sued the company in August. A suit was filed in Iowa after a 13-year-old girl was allegedly introduced to an adult predator on the platform, then kidnapped and trafficked across multiple states and raped.

Roblox on Tuesday pushed back against the allegations.

"We have rigorous safety measures in place from advanced AI models to an expertly trained team of thousands moderating our platform 24/7 for inappropriate content," the company said in a statement. "No system is perfect and our work on safety is never done. We are constantly innovating our safety systems, including adding 100 new safeguards, such as facial age estimation, this year alone."

Roblox says it has 111 million daily active users. The company said in an email Tuesday that it implements strict safety defaults for its youngest users. It said the platform's users under 13 cannot directly message others on Roblox, outside of games or experiences, and cannot directly message others during games or experiences unless the default setting is changed using parental controls.

The company said it has rigorous text chat filters to block inappropriate words and phrases, attempts to direct under-13 users off the platform and the sharing of personal information such as phone number or address. It does not allow user-to-user image sharing and prohibits sexual conversations, it said.

A Louisville mom, Courtney Norris, drove to Frankfort to speak at the news conference. She described herself as an "engaged parent" and said she believed Roblox was a "safe choice" — until she realized it was the "wild west of the internet." She urged parents not to assume "this can't happen to my child," and said her recommendation now is clear: delete the app.

Coleman said the goal is not to shut down Roblox, but to compel it to adopt common-sense safety features, strengthen age verification, restrict harmful content and be held liable for its failures. He promised Kentucky would lead the fight and seek accountability for children harmed on the platform.

Roblox has not yet issued a public response to Kentucky's lawsuit, but similar suits in other states have focused on allegations of negligence, failure to warn, and deceptive practices. In those cases, arguments often center on the platform's user growth, lack of robust safety measures, and insufficient moderation.

As the case moves forward, the eyes of parents, gaming communities, and legislators will focus on whether this lawsuit triggers reforms not just in Kentucky — but across the digital world of child-oriented platforms. To read the lawsuit, click here.

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