Updated Feb. 19, 2026, 11:53 a.m. PT
Los Angeles County is suing popular online gaming platform Roblox, alleging the company has failed to protect child users from sexual predators, county officials announced on Thursday, Feb. 19.
The lawsuit claims Roblox has knowingly operated a platform that enables the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors, including children living in Los Angeles County, where hundreds of thousands of users are under 18.
Roblox “strongly” disputed the claims made, a Roblox spokesperson said in a statement to the USA TODAY Network.
“Roblox is built with safety at its core, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day,” the spokesperson said. “We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications, and users cannot send or receive images via chat, avoiding one of the most prevalent opportunities for misuse seen elsewhere online.”
Here’s what to know about the lawsuit and Roblox.
Los Angeles County alleges Roblox makes children vulnerable
In a complaint filed Thursday, county attorneys argue that Roblox’s platform design “makes children easy prey for pedophiles” and that the company has failed to adopt “reasonable and readily available safety measures” to protect minors.
Those measures, the complaint says, include meaningful age verification tools and stronger parental controls. Attorneys also allege Roblox has been aware of the risks for years but chose not to act quickly or decisively.
“This is not about a minor lapse in safety,” Los Angeles County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison said in a statement. “It is about a company that gives pedophiles powerful tools to prey on innocent and unsuspecting children. The trauma that results is horrific, from grooming to exploitation to actual assault. This needs to stop.”
The lawsuit seeks court-ordered changes that would require Roblox to implement what the county describes as meaningful safeguards to prevent harm to underage users. It also accuses the company of falsely assuring parents and the public that the platform is safe for children.
How Roblox games work — and how predators allegedly exploit the platform
Roblox is not a single game but an online platform that hosts millions of user-created games and virtual experiences. Players, represented by customizable avatars, can explore worlds ranging from obstacle courses and role‑playing games to social hangouts designed primarily for interaction rather than competition.
According to the complaint, much of Roblox’s appeal to children lies in its social features. Players can communicate with one another through in‑game chat, private messaging, and shared virtual spaces, often while playing games designed by other users. Many of those users are minors.
Los Angeles County attorneys argue that those same features make the platform vulnerable to abuse. The lawsuit alleges predators use games and chat functions to identify, contact, and groom children, sometimes moving conversations from public game spaces into private messages.
Attorneys say the platform’s design allows adults to blend in with younger users, making it difficult for children and parents to determine who they are interacting with.
The complaint also claims Roblox’s moderation systems and parental controls are insufficient, allowing inappropriate interactions to go undetected or to occur before intervention. Attorneys say those risks are heightened because children often play Roblox unsupervised and for extended periods.
Roblox response and prior lawsuits
The lawsuit follows similar legal actions against Roblox across the country. Last year, Louisiana announced it was suing Roblox, alleging the company failed to implement safety controls to protect children and facilitated sexual exploitation on its platform.
In December, Reuters reported that Roblox was facing nearly 80 lawsuits nationwide accusing the company of knowingly facilitating child sexual exploitation.
In August 2025, Roblox pushed back against what it called “erroneous claims and misconceptions” about its safety practices.
“Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue,” the company said at the time. Roblox acknowledged that no system is perfect, saying bad actors continually adapt to evade detection and sometimes move conversations to other platforms with different moderation standards.
The company said it continues to work to block those efforts and improve its moderation systems.
Roblox’s California footprint
The lawsuit carries added significance in California, where Roblox is headquartered. The company is based in San Mateo, in the Bay Area, and employs workers across California while operating one of the most widely used online gaming platforms among children and teens.
Los Angeles County attorneys argue that the company’s presence and reach in the state heighten its responsibility to protect young users, particularly given California’s strong consumer protection and child safety laws.
County officials encouraged parents and guardians who believe their child may have been harmed while using Roblox to contact the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs by phone, email or by filing an online complaint.
(This story was updated with new information.)
