Fairplay and the National Centre for Sexual Exploitation have filed a complaint with the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that 5-year-olds are facing various risks from Roblox, including contact with strangers and forced consumption through the Roblox in-house purchasing system. Concerns have been expressed about chatting, in-playing and so-called “maximizing participatory design” (including a daily reward for continuous sign-in and social ranking mechanisms).
“Roblox is well received by underage groups, especially children under 13. During the 2020 epidemic blockade, Roblox claimed that two thirds of children aged 9-12 years and one third of children under 16 years used the platform. According to recent data from Roblox, about 40 per cent of its 82.9 million day active users are under 13 years of age.”
Fairplay adds: “Roblox controls the design and functions of its platform, so the request for this survey is only directed at Roblox itself, not at the decision or potential responsibility of any individual developer.”
The litigation paper notes that Roblex ‘ s virtual currency system, Robux, is too complex and difficult for children to understand and that it is difficult to track game consumption in real life. In the cited case, one parent claimed that her 10-year-old daughter had spent over $7,000 in two months.
Roblox denied these allegations, stating that the platform was “aimed to provide pleasure and networking rather than short-term interaction”, and that only 1.4 per cent of its 132 million days of active users in the first quarter of 2026 were paid users. It also indicated that measures had been taken, such as preventing adults from talking to children and the age estimation tool.
However, the persons concerned believe that there are still risks, especially in relation to seduction, inappropriate content and exploitation through chat systems. FTC has not confirmed whether a formal investigation will be conducted.
Fairplay wrote: “While the experience of children playing and interacting upstream of the platform is designed and operated by third-party developers, the ultimate responsibility for the unfair and deceptive behaviour and practices described in this request for investigation rests with Roblox.”
“Roblox provides the basis upon which all Roblox developers can rely. It is responsible for all functions provided to developers through Roblox Studio and for promoting all key features of the Platform to these developers. In addition, its micro-trading-driven framework puts economic pressure on these developers to make design decisions that often endanger security.”
