Oklahoma sues Roblox over child safety failures

The state alleges the platform exposed children to predators while telling parents it was safe. By Troy Littledeer | @candyminksprings

Oklahoma’s attorney general says Roblox marketed itself to children while failing to implement safeguards the state says were necessary to protect minors on the platform for years.

The state filed suit Thursday in Cleveland County District Court. Case No. CJ-2026-810.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed the petition under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, 15 O.S. §§ 751–763, alleging two counts: unfair trade practices and deception. The state is asking for civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation under 15 O.S. § 761.1, a permanent injunction requiring meaningful safeguards, and a court order requiring Roblox to publicly disclose platform risks on a regular basis.

According to Roblox’s own Q4 2025 shareholder letter, as cited in the petition, the platform reported 144 million daily active users at the end of 2025 and generated $4.9 billion in revenue that year. Two-thirds of U.S. children ages 9 to 12 have accounts, according to Roblox’s own figures cited in the petition. The platform launched in 2006.

According to the petition, account creation required a birthdate, a username, and a password — with no meaningful verification of claimed ages and no documented parental consent process regardless of the child’s age. For most of the platform’s history, the petition alleges, adults could contact minors without robust age-verification barriers or comprehensive parental controls. That changed in November 2024 — 18 years after launch.

According to the petition, Roblox declined to implement stronger parental consent measures despite internal proposals to do so. Former employees reported that a proposal requiring verifiable parental consent reached company management and was rejected before reaching the experiment phase.

The petition alleges Roblox knew a consistent grooming pattern was occurring on the platform and failed to implement safeguards the state argues were necessary to interrupt it. The petition describes the sequence as follows: a predator used the platform’s messaging and social features to target a child, offered Robux — the platform’s in-game currency — as an enticement, then moved the conversation off-platform to Snapchat or Discord before soliciting explicit material.

The petition cites an Oklahoma case filed in September 2025: a mother alleged a man in his mid-40s used Roblox’s account creation system to pose as a 15-year-old boy and groomed her 12-year-old daughter, using Robux to build trust before soliciting sexually explicit photos and videos. A second Oklahoma family filed suit in November 2025 involving similar allegations.

The petition also describes a case in another state involving an autistic teenage boy who believed for years he had a friend on the platform. According to the petition, law enforcement later informed the family that the contact was likely a 37-year-old Florida man subsequently arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material. According to the petition, the boy died by suicide in April 2024 at 15.

The petition cites a Nov. 21, 2025 New York Times interview in which Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki was asked about predators and platform safety. According to the petition, Baszucki responded: “We think of it not necessarily just as a problem, but an opportunity as well.”

The state alleges Roblox publicly promoted child safety as a top priority while acknowledging risks in SEC filings. According to Roblox’s own 2020 S-1 registration statement, as cited in the petition, the company told investors it was “unable to prevent all such interactions from taking place.”

According to earnings call transcripts cited in the petition, Roblox told investors trust and safety expenditures were increasing more slowly than revenue.

Roblox, Inc. is a Nevada corporation headquartered in San Mateo, California. Oklahoma argues jurisdiction in Cleveland County based on Roblox’s sale of physical gift cards and merchandise at retail locations in Midwest City, Del City, and Tulsa, and its contracts with Oklahoma consumers.

The company has not filed a response. The record does not show a hearing date.

Troy Littledeer is a journalist and photographer from Candy Mink Springs in Adair County, Oklahoma. He is a citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and has reported on tribal government, education, sovereignty, and rural Oklahoma issues for more than 20 years. His work has appeared in the Cherokee Phoenix, Osage News, NDNSports.com, and Giduwa Cherokee News. He is a lifetime member of the Indigenous Journalists Association and received the 2025 Tim Giago Free Press Award for defending tribal press independence.