Roblox faces U.S. Senate investigation over child safety concerns

Roblox is facing intense scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and is implementing new content restrictions to enhance child safety. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism has launched a bipartisan investigation into the platform following allegations regarding child exploitation, grooming, and sexual abuse.

In a letter to CEO David Baszucki, Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin cited concerns that the platform has been used for illegal activities, including the exchange of child sexual abuse material and the extortion of minors. The investigation follows reports that Roblox recorded 65,381 suspected child sexual exploitation incidents reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025, more than double the figure from 2024.

In response to safety concerns and recent controversies, Roblox has announced new policies to restrict games that utilize “reward-based media feeds” in its Roblox Kids and Select modes. This policy targets mechanics that combine media feeds (such as short videos or social-media-style stories) with autoplay features and reward systems designed to keep young users engaged through continuous viewing. The company clarified that this does not affect rewarded video ads, which require active user initiation.