Roblox has been accused of violating FTC rules by child safety organizations

Online safety organizations have filed a letter with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), asking the agency to formally investigate Roblox’s alleged harm to children.

The Request for Investigation, submitted by the non-profit child safety organization Fairplay and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), claims that aspects of Roblox’s design and advertising violate parts of the FTC Act in ways that put young users at risk.

“The FTC has the authority to stop Roblox from making billions of dollars in profits every year at the expense of the safety and healthy development of our children. We ask the commission to investigate Roblox’s unfair business practices and practices, and to scrutinize the platform’s compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Act,” said Fairplay policy advisor Haley Hinkle in a press release.

The organizations say the platform directly violates Section 5 of the FTC Act, a federal law that prohibits unfair or deceptive practices or practices, including false advertising.

The letter urges the agency to investigate Roblox’s marketing of virtual currency (Robux), its chat and communication tools, and its use of “engagement-enhancing design features” as improper conduct under Section 5. It argues that Roblox’s representation of the platform’s security features and the appropriateness of Roblox’s work development is deceptive.

The organizations are also asking the FTC to review Roblox’s compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which regulates the online collection of personal information from children under the age of 13. The letter says the platform collects “a large amount of data” that may be linked to players’ usernames.

“Despite our warnings over the years, Roblox has refused to make changes to protect children from harm, recently making some design changes to prevent unknown adults from contacting children,” wrote Haley McNamara, executive director of NCOSE. “Roblox has a history of being hurtful and callous to children and concerned parents, and it should be investigated by the FTC for the sake of children around the world.”

Other groups, including the Consumer Federation of America, Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation Movement, and ParentsSOS, have signed on in support.

In a statement sent to Mashable, a Roblox spokesperson said:

Roblox strongly disputes these claims. Our platform is designed to provide a positive, healthy and enjoyable experience — we create fun and connection, not temporary interactions. While no system is perfect, we have a set of safeguards designed to support a safe and civil environment, and clear policies for game creators that require fair treatment of players.

Most of the games on Roblox are free to play and no one is required to buy Robux. In the first quarter of 2026, only 1.4% of our 132 million daily active users were paying on the platform. In addition, we have clear policies that prohibit both real and simulated gambling, as well as a set of rules that govern how game creators can use gaming machines as random payouts.

Roblox has faced numerous lawsuits filed by individuals, parents and state attorneys who say the platform is not doing enough to protect new users. In 2023, a group of families whose children were allegedly exposed to inappropriate content on the platform filed a class-the case against Roblox. The lawsuit similarly accused Roblox of “misrepresentation and false advertising,” and started a wave of criticism that it was a child’s play site. which allows children to hunt.

This was followed by a execution in 2025including a Louisiana filing that says Roblox willfully failed to implement security measures intended to prevent child abuse material (CSAM). Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit in November, claiming Roblox Internet security rules are ignored and parents have deceived. Paxton is now aiming to stream Netflix as well data collection policies for child users.

In response to growing concerns, Roblox has unveiled additional security features for the platform, including age verification and age-gated child accounts for users under 16. Over the past few years, the platform has also introduced linked parent accounts, expanded parental monitoring tools, and additional AI-driven chat moderation features.