Louisiana sues Roblox platform over child safety failures

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation on August 14, 2025, alleging the gaming platform fails to protect children from sexual predators and operates as "a breeding ground for sex predators." The legal action comes as Roblox continues expanding its advertising ecosystem through partnerships with Google and other major technology companies.

According to the lawsuit filed in the 21st Judicial District Court in Livingston Parish, Roblox "prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety" while marketing itself as the "#1 gaming site for kids and teens." The complaint alleges the platform lacks adequate age verification systems and permits predators to easily contact minors through its messaging and gaming features.

"Due to Roblox's lack of safety protocols, it endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana," Murrill stated in the August 14 announcement. "Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety."

The timing of the lawsuit intersects with Roblox's aggressive expansion of its advertising capabilities. The platform has been integrating advertising partnerships that monetize its user base of over 82.9 million daily active users, with approximately 20% under nine years old. Recent financial reports show Roblox generated $1,080.7 million in revenue for Q2 2025, representing 21% year-over-year growth.

Specific safety concerns detailed

The Louisiana complaint cites a July 15, 2025 arrest in Livingston Parish as evidence of the platform's dangers. Law enforcement found an individual possessing child sexual abuse material who actively used Roblox and employed voice-altering technology "to mimic a younger feminine voice, allegedly for the purpose of luring and sexually exploiting minor users of the platform."

The lawsuit details how Roblox's design facilitates predatory behavior through inadequate age verification and content moderation. Users can create accounts providing only a birthdate, username, and password, with no requirement for parental consent or identity verification. This system allows predators to "pose as children" while enabling minors to circumvent age restrictions by creating accounts with false birthdates.

According to the court filing, Roblox hosts experiences with titles including "Escape to Epstein Island," "Diddy Party," and "Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe" that can be labeled as "all ages (suitable to everyone)" despite containing sexually explicit material. The platform reportedly hosted over 600 games referencing Sean "Diddy" Combs and more than 900 accounts displaying variations of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's name.

Advertising expansion continues amid legal challenges

While facing legal scrutiny over child safety, Roblox has accelerated its advertising partnerships throughout 2025. Google Ad Manager announced on April 1, 2025 an expanded partnership bringing immersive ads to the gaming platform, specifically targeting Gen Z users who comprise Roblox's largest demographic.

The Google partnership enables "ads that blend seamlessly into the gaming experience," according to Google's Q1 2025 earnings announcement. This collaboration follows Roblox's May 2024 opening of video ads to all brands, which created new opportunities for marketers to reach the platform's 71.5 million daily active users.

Roblox's Q2 2025 earnings revealed that nearly 100 publishers have integrated Google's rewarded video advertising system, representing significant creator adoption of advertising monetization options. The company also launched a licensing platform in July 2025 featuring partnerships with Netflix, Lionsgate, Sega, and Kodansha for intellectual property integration.

Financial implications of safety allegations

The lawsuit seeks restitution, damages, and civil penalties under Louisiana's Unfair Trade Practices Act, alleging Roblox's marketing practices constitute deceptive advertising. Louisiana maintains that the company's representations of safety protections are "patently false" while the platform serves as "an initial access point to children for predators."

According to the complaint, Roblox's business model has prioritized user growth over child protection since its public offering in 2021 at a $41 billion valuation. The lawsuit alleges executives rejected employee proposals for enhanced parental approval requirements to avoid reducing user engagement metrics that Wall Street monitors closely.

The legal filing details how investment analysts have identified child safety expenditures as potential "drag on margins," with Barclays specifically noting increased safety investments as a "negative" factor in quarterly earnings assessments. During earnings calls, Roblox has emphasized reducing trust and safety expenses as a percentage of revenue, according to the lawsuit.

Platform design facilitates exploitation

Louisiana's complaint alleges that Roblox's technical architecture enables predatory behavior through deliberate design choices. The platform allows adults to contact children through direct messaging and in-game chat systems, with content filters that can be easily bypassed using alphanumeric combinations and emoji substitutions.

The lawsuit describes how predators follow a "predictable and preventable sequence" by misrepresenting their age, befriending vulnerable children, and manipulating them to move conversations to external apps like Snapchat or Discord. This pattern allegedly occurs "opening on Roblox" with the company's knowledge and inadequate monitoring.

Despite employing approximately 3,000 moderators for its platform, the lawsuit alleges this staffing level is "woefully inadequate" compared to platforms like TikTok, which employs over 40,000 moderators for a user base only three times larger. Many of Roblox's moderators are described as "overseas contractors" who report being "overwhelmed by an unmanageable volume of child safety reports."

Marketing community implications

The lawsuit's allegations carry significant implications for digital marketers and advertising professionals working within Roblox's ecosystem. PPC Land previously reported that Roblox achieved 31% revenue growth in Q2 2024, partly through expanding its creator economy and advertising infrastructure.

The platform's appeal to marketers stems from its concentrated Gen Z audience and high engagement rates. Hours engaged increased 58% to 27.4 billion in Q2 2025, providing the audience scale necessary for premium advertising partnerships. However, the Louisiana lawsuit raises questions about brand safety considerations for companies advertising on the platform.

Marketing professionals must now evaluate whether association with Roblox through advertising partnerships aligns with corporate social responsibility standards, particularly given the detailed allegations of child exploitation. The lawsuit's timing coincides with increased industry focus on platform accountability and advertiser brand safety requirements.

Recent advertising developments including partnerships with PubMatic for programmatic video advertising and Google's immersive ad integration may face scrutiny as legal proceedings advance. The advertising industry's response to these allegations could influence future platform partnerships and child safety standards across social gaming environments.

Recent safety updates criticized as insufficient

The lawsuit notes that Roblox announced safety changes in November 2024, including restrictions on under-13 users messaging others outside experiences and new parental controls. However, Louisiana characterizes these modifications as "window dressing" that fails to address fundamental platform design issues.

According to the complaint, the timing of these changes followed a short-seller report describing Roblox as a "pedophile hellscape for kids" rather than genuine safety concerns. The lawsuit alleges these updates were implemented "when its stock was threatened" rather than from commitment to child protection.

The November 2024 changes still permit predators to contact children through in-game messaging while playing experiences, which the lawsuit describes as predators' primary method for finding victims. Louisiana maintains that without comprehensive age verification and parental consent requirements, these partial restrictions remain inadequate.

Timeline

• April 13, 2024: Roblox partners with PubMatic for programmatic video advertising
• May 1, 2024: Roblox opens video ads to all brands
• May 10, 2024: Roblox reports Q1 2024 results showing steady growth
• August 4, 2024: Roblox reports Q2 2024 results with 31% revenue growth
• April 1, 2025: Google announces expanded immersive ads partnership with Roblox
• July 15, 2025: Roblox launches licensing platform with major entertainment partners
• July 31, 2025: Roblox reports Q2 2025 earnings with Google advertising partnership update
• August 14, 2025: Louisiana Attorney General files lawsuit against Roblox Corporation

PPC Land explains

Roblox Corporation: The Delaware-based gaming company operates one of the world's largest user-generated content platforms, hosting over 6.4 million experiences and serving 82.9 million daily active users. Founded in 2006 and publicly traded since 2021, Roblox markets itself as an educational platform for children while generating revenue through its virtual currency Robux and an expanding advertising ecosystem that includes partnerships with Google, PubMatic, and major entertainment companies.

Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act (LUTPA): This state consumer protection law enables the Attorney General to pursue companies for deceptive business practices that harm consumers. The lawsuit alleges Roblox violated LUTPA by falsely marketing its platform as safe for children while knowingly enabling predatory behavior, seeking restitution, civil penalties, and injunctive relief to force operational changes in how the company protects minors.

Age verification: The process of confirming users' actual ages, which Roblox allegedly fails to implement effectively. The lawsuit details how the platform relies on self-reported birthdates without requiring government-issued identification, parental consent, or biometric confirmation, enabling adults to pose as children and minors to bypass age-restricted content by creating accounts with false birth information.

Daily active users (DAUs): A critical metric measuring platform engagement that directly impacts advertising revenue potential. Roblox's growth from 77.7 million DAUs in Q1 2024 to 82.9 million in 2024/2025 demonstrates the platform's expanding reach, but the lawsuit alleges this growth was prioritized over child safety measures, with executives rejecting safety proposals that might reduce user engagement metrics.

Child predators: Individuals who exploit minors through the platform's messaging and gaming systems. The lawsuit describes a systematic pattern where predators misrepresent their age, target vulnerable children through games they know minors frequent, and manipulate victims to move conversations to external platforms like Snapchat or Discord where exploitation escalates beyond Roblox's limited oversight capabilities.

Google Ad Manager: The advertising technology platform that partners with Roblox to deliver immersive ads within gaming experiences. This partnership, expanded in 2025, enables brands to reach Gen Z users through video advertisements integrated into the 3D gaming environment, representing a significant revenue diversification strategy as Roblox transitions from relying solely on Robux purchases to advertising-based monetization models.

Advertising partnerships: Strategic collaborations with technology companies that monetize Roblox's user base through branded content and video advertisements. These partnerships with Google, PubMatic, Netflix, and Lionsgate generate revenue for both Roblox and content creators, but the lawsuit suggests the company's focus on expanding these lucrative relationships has diverted attention and resources from implementing adequate child safety protections.

Platform safety: Protective measures including content moderation, age verification, parental controls, and predator prevention systems. The lawsuit alleges Roblox deliberately maintains inadequate safety infrastructure, employing only 3,000 moderators compared to TikTok's 40,000 for a proportionally similar user base, while designing systems that enable rather than prevent unauthorized contact between adults and minors.

Revenue growth: Roblox's financial performance, reaching $1,080.7 million in Q2 2025 with 21% year-over-year increases. The lawsuit alleges this growth strategy prioritized user acquisition and advertising expansion over child protection, with executives viewing safety investments as potential "drag on margins" rather than necessary operational expenses, leading to systematic underinvestment in protective technologies and adequate staffing.

Content moderation: The process of reviewing and removing inappropriate material from the platform. Louisiana alleges Roblox's moderation systems are deliberately ineffective, allowing experiences titled "Escape to Epstein Island" and "Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe" to remain accessible to children while using easily bypassed content filters that permit predators to communicate through emoji substitutions and alphanumeric combinations that circumvent automated detection systems.

Summary of the article

Who: Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed suit against Roblox Corporation, a Delaware-based gaming company with headquarters in San Mateo, California.

What: The lawsuit alleges Roblox operates as "a breeding ground for sex predators" through inadequate age verification, insufficient content moderation, and platform design that facilitates child exploitation while prioritizing revenue growth over safety.

When: The lawsuit was filed August 14, 2025, in Livingston Parish's 21st Judicial District Court, citing a July 15, 2025 arrest as evidence of platform-related dangers.

Where: Legal action was filed in Louisiana state court, though Roblox operates globally with over 82.9 million daily active users across multiple countries and markets.

Why: Louisiana seeks to hold Roblox accountable for allegedly deceiving parents about platform safety while enabling systematic child exploitation through deliberate design choices that prioritize user growth and advertising revenue over child protection.