CT Launches Probe Into Gaming Platform Roblox, Claiming Child Harm

Connecticut has launched an investigation into Roblox, an online gaming and chat platform, and its safety practices, citing reports it is being misused for child exploitation.

Attorney General William Tong announced the investigation into the company and its safety protocols on Tuesday.

“Roblox built an online pedophile playground,” Tong said. “Our investigation seeks to uncover exactly what the company knew about widespread child exploitation on its platform, how they have profited, and what they have or have not done to protect our kids online.”

Connecticut’s civil demand to Roblox seeks information, such as the age of users in Connecticut, income generated from those users, and hours spent on the platform, according to the Attorney General’s office.

The state is also seeking records related to a game in which the player attempts to re-create the Sandy Hook school shooting, for example. Connecticut also wants the company’s records related to its development of safety systems and parental controls.

Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said parents shouldn’t have to worry if a game their child plays with friends is a “gateway to grooming, exploitation and other inappropriate behavior.”

“Roblox’s own data shows that the majority of daily active users on its platform are under the age of 18, creating an environment for predators to take advantage of unsuspecting youth,” Cafferelli said. “We expect all companies to be transparent in their advertising, and to prioritize safety – especially for children – over profits.”

Roblox this week said there are mandatory age checks, and the company as of January 2026 requires all users to undergo a facial age check to use chat.

According to the company, its parental controls enable parents to block specific games or users, choose whether their child can use chat, and set screen time and spending limits. Roblox said it does not allow the transmission of images or videos via chat, “removing the primary channel used by predators for sextortion or the exchange of explicit material.”

Matt Kaufman, chief safety officer for Roblox, issued the following statement this week in response to Tong’s announcement:

“We share Attorney General Tong’s commitment to helping keep children safe online. Roblox has built a multilayered safety system that includes pioneering safeguards to help protect our users. Images and videos cannot be sent or received in chat, and we deploy a combination of advanced AI-powered detection, human moderation and rigorous filters designed to prevent the exchange of personal information.

As part of our ongoing work to strengthen user protections, Roblox recently became the first online gaming platform to require age checks for all users to access chat features so that younger users are limited to chatting with similarly aged users by default. Additionally, this June, we will launch new age-based accounts that automatically match our youngest users to a dynamically updated catalog of content containing select games rated for their age group, further aligning content access and parental controls with a user’s age.

When we identify violations of our rules we take swift action and work closely with law enforcement to help hold bad actors accountable. While no system can be perfect, we are constantly strengthening our user protections, and we look forward to working collaboratively with Attorney General Tong to help keep kids safe online.”