WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Dick Durbin of Illinois have launched a Senate investigation into child safety on the Roblox online gaming platform, citing concerns about reports of sexual exploitation and other crimes involving children.
Hawley, a Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, and Durbin, the panel’s ranking Democrat, notified Roblox founder and CEO David Baszucki of the investigation in an Aug. 12 letter.
“We write to inform you that the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism has opened an investigation into child safety on the Roblox gaming platform,” the senators wrote.
Hawley and Durbin said reports involving the platform raise questions about Roblox’s efforts to protect its younger users. They cited cases in which individuals allegedly used Roblox to groom or sexually exploit children, distribute child sexual abuse material or lure minors into in-person meetings.
According to the senators’ letter, Roblox reported 65,381 instances of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025, more than twice the number reported in 2024.
“You trumpet Roblox as a safe digital playground for children as young as five,” Hawley and Durbin wrote. “But the public record raises serious questions about this promise of safety.”
As part of the investigation, the senators directed Roblox to preserve records related to child safety, sexual or physical abuse, bullying and financial exploitation. They also requested documents and answers to a series of questions by Aug. 31.
“Let us be clear: children on your platform are hurting,” Hawley and Durbin wrote. “Congress will not look the other way.”
The investigation follows other efforts by Hawley and Durbin addressing online child exploitation. Both senators have supported the Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act, known as the STOP CSAM Act, which has advanced through the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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