Tennessee Sues Roblox for Child Endangerment
Jan 7, 2026 by FACT
In December, Tennessee became the sixth state to file a lawsuit against one of the most popular online gaming platforms in history: Roblox. The video game giant is widely known for cultivating an environment where predators can “readily hunt, groom and sexually exploit minors.” From July to September 2025, an average of 151.5 million daily users spent a collective 39.6 billion hours on the platform, generating over $1.36 billion for Roblox. Over two-thirds of those users were under the age of 16.
“Roblox has built a massive, largely unsupervised online world, where adults and children mingle with little functional oversight. Beneath the bright animation and cheerful branding lies an environment in which child predators can—and do—make contact with minors, and where sexual content sits within easy reach to children, leaving them to navigate dangers they do not—and cannot—understand,” the lawsuit reads.
Tennessee parents have reported horrifying encounters with predators on their children' s accounts, prompting the statewide lawsuit. One mother recalled an “obvious adult” user approaching her 13-year-old child’s account, asking about where they went to school and if they had any other apps, such as WhatsApp and Snapchat, and describing “lewd sexual acts.” These conversations are not few and far between – they are a daily occurrence for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users.
Tennessee’s lawsuit describes how Roblox has not only allowed such encounters to take place, but readily cultivates an environment for predators to groom children:
After establishing these complaints, the lawsuit argues Roblox stands in clear violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 by marketing the platform as safe for children despite robust evidence to the contrary:
It’s time to hold this dangerous app accountable for the endangerment of children.
“Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground,” Attorney General Skrmetti stated in a press release. “Roblox worked to reduce oversight and child safety resources despite repeated warnings, because less overhead meant more profit. And the whole time, the company lied and said safety was its top priority."
We’re thankful to live in a state that puts children first!
“Roblox has built a massive, largely unsupervised online world, where adults and children mingle with little functional oversight. Beneath the bright animation and cheerful branding lies an environment in which child predators can—and do—make contact with minors, and where sexual content sits within easy reach to children, leaving them to navigate dangers they do not—and cannot—understand,” the lawsuit reads.
Tennessee parents have reported horrifying encounters with predators on their children' s accounts, prompting the statewide lawsuit. One mother recalled an “obvious adult” user approaching her 13-year-old child’s account, asking about where they went to school and if they had any other apps, such as WhatsApp and Snapchat, and describing “lewd sexual acts.” These conversations are not few and far between – they are a daily occurrence for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users.
Tennessee’s lawsuit describes how Roblox has not only allowed such encounters to take place, but readily cultivates an environment for predators to groom children:
Roblox invites children into its fantastic world with the promise of creativity and play, while failing to erect even rudimentary guardrails against the dangers it knows exist. Indeed, Roblox has built an ecosystem that all but hands predators a roadmap to young users: the platform’s architecture lets adults spot minors with ease, strike up conversations, and slowly maneuver themselves into a position of influence over those children, to the point of grooming them through repeated interactions. Rather than dangling toys at the edge of a playground, predators on Roblox exploit the platform’s own irresistible draw: Robux—the virtual currency kids use to buy in-game perks and items. And because many children are desperate to get Robux without going to their parents for money, predators use it as the perfect bait to reel them in.
Another important aspect of Roblox is the “experiences” it offers, and which until November 2024, when Roblox implemented some age restrictions, any user could access. Through these millions of different “experiences”—which anyone can create, but Roblox itself controls— Roblox invites children into immersive, user-built worlds, where their avatars can role-play family life or collect and care for virtual pets. Roblox claims it monitors its experiences and prohibits minors from accessing sexual content. But Roblox still hosts thousands of experiences with overtly sexual themes, including strip clubs, sex rooms, an “[e]scape to Epstein Island,” and “Diddy Party” (a recreation of the reported events concerning Sean “Diddy” Combs). And while Roblox implemented some superficial age restrictions on sexualized experiences in late 2024, these restrictions can be circumvented by simply giving the experience an innocuous name. One such experience (named “Public Bathroom Simulator”) was open to users under the age of 10 and rife with sexual activity. By letting this material proliferate within easy access of children—in direct contradiction of its own safety promises—Roblox shoved Tennessee children into harm’s way to keep revenue growing and engagement levels high.
Another important aspect of Roblox is the “experiences” it offers, and which until November 2024, when Roblox implemented some age restrictions, any user could access. Through these millions of different “experiences”—which anyone can create, but Roblox itself controls— Roblox invites children into immersive, user-built worlds, where their avatars can role-play family life or collect and care for virtual pets. Roblox claims it monitors its experiences and prohibits minors from accessing sexual content. But Roblox still hosts thousands of experiences with overtly sexual themes, including strip clubs, sex rooms, an “[e]scape to Epstein Island,” and “Diddy Party” (a recreation of the reported events concerning Sean “Diddy” Combs). And while Roblox implemented some superficial age restrictions on sexualized experiences in late 2024, these restrictions can be circumvented by simply giving the experience an innocuous name. One such experience (named “Public Bathroom Simulator”) was open to users under the age of 10 and rife with sexual activity. By letting this material proliferate within easy access of children—in direct contradiction of its own safety promises—Roblox shoved Tennessee children into harm’s way to keep revenue growing and engagement levels high.
After establishing these complaints, the lawsuit argues Roblox stands in clear violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 by marketing the platform as safe for children despite robust evidence to the contrary:
Given the amount of criticism, public reporting, and litigation that has accumulated over the years, Roblox cannot claim ignorance about the existence, severity, or scope of its safety problems. And still, rather than protect Tennessee children as it promises to do, Roblox continues to fuel the conduct that led to their abuse, all while continuing to falsely advertise its platform as“safe,” “family friendly,” and suitable for children. Roblox’s continued refusal to act—paired with its deliberate misrepresentations—has directly inflicted severe harm upon Tennessee families and their children.
It’s time to hold this dangerous app accountable for the endangerment of children.
“Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground,” Attorney General Skrmetti stated in a press release. “Roblox worked to reduce oversight and child safety resources despite repeated warnings, because less overhead meant more profit. And the whole time, the company lied and said safety was its top priority."
We’re thankful to live in a state that puts children first!
