Senators Launch Bipartisan Probe Into Roblox Over Child Safety

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin have launched a bipartisan congressional investigation into Roblox, the popular online gaming platform, over allegations that it has failed to adequately protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The inquiry, announced on August 13, 2026, is being led by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which Hawley chairs and Durbin ranking as the ranking member.

In a letter sent to Roblox founder and CEO David Baszucki, the senators criticized the platform for what they described as a pattern of enabling serious harm to minors. The letter states that over the past decade, police have arrested numerous individuals for crimes including grooming, sexual abuse, kidnapping, assault, and murder involving children they met on Roblox. It further alleges the platform is used to trade child sexual abuse material, participate in explicit virtual experiences with children, and lure minors into in-person meetings.

The senators highlighted a significant increase in reported incidents, noting that in 2025, Roblox reported 65,381 instances of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited...