FTC requested to investigate Roblox by child safety & Consumer rights advocates. WASHINGTON, DC (May 20, 2026) - Fairplay and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting an investigation of Roblox Corporation to determine if it is violating Section 5 of the FTC Act by committing unfair and deceptive acts and practices at the expense of children's safety and well-being. Roblox says over 30 million of its daily users are children under age 13. "Children have been contacted and groomed by predators, exposed to sexually graphic material, sextorted, and abused on Roblox, a highly popular gaming platform where over 50% of their users are under the age of 17. Despite our warnings over the years, Roblox refused to make changes to protect children from harm, only recently making some design changes to prevent unknown adults from contacting children. Roblox has a history of harm and callousness towards children and concerned parents, and must be investigated by the FTC for the sake of children worldwide," said Haley McNamara, Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer, National Center on Sexual Exploitation. NCOSE and Fairplay are joined by the following organizations in the submission of this request: Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Institute for Families and Technology, The Anxious Generation Movement, Young People's Alliance, and ParentsSOS. About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography. Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children's well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org. To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact [email protected]. Further Reading The numbers. 300+. 100+. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation has had over 100 policy victories since 2010. Each victory promotes human dignity above exploitation. 93. NCOSE's activism campaigns and victories have made headlines around the globe. Averaging 93 mentions per week by media outlets and shows such as Today, CNN, The New York Times, BBC News, USA Today, Fox News and more. NCOSE leads the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation with over 300 member organizations. Survivor lawsuit against twitter moves to ninth circuit court of appeals. Survivors' $12.7M victory over explicit website a beacon of hope for other survivors. Instagram makes positive safety changes via improved reporting and direct message tools. Sharing experiences may be a restorative and liberating process. This is a place for those who want to express their story. Support dignity.

Roblox down? Hundreds of users Report server issues, game launch failures. Popular gaming and creation platform Roblox is reportedly facing an outage in the United States on Tuesday, with hundreds of users complaining about the gameplay and server issues. According to Downdetector, nearly 1200 users reported service disruption around 11:17 PM EST. Users Report Multiple Issues The data shared by the outage tracker showed that nearly 35 per cent of affected users faced issues with the server connections. Nearly 28 per cent users faced issues with the game launch while 26 per cent gamers faced problems with the gameplay, at the time of writing. The outage tracker indicated that cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Washington were among the worst affected areas. It is noteworthy that the official status page of Roblox shows that all services are operating normally. Several users took it to X to confirm the alleged outage and express their frustration. An X user by the name of Scud said, "Is Roblox down ...!" Another wrote, "roblox is still down?" Another user by the handle @MaxCantonRW2 said, "Well shit. The roblox updates regarding games and developing etc will make me a 15 year old struggle to even host my own fed anymore let alone attend other feds. the roblox wrestling community is going down down down in so many ways I guess this is a cya later?" X user NicoleCatsey wrote, "Relationships in Roblox is like the upside down of internet dating." While the issue seems to be on the server-side, it cannot be fixed by users. However, you can refresh the app to check if the temporary issues have been resolved. Restarting the games could also help. Moreover, it is advised to check the official social media handles and the service status page of Roblox to get the updates on the current situation. It is crucial to note that users must avoid making purchases when platforms like these show errors on and off.

Iowa AG celebrates win in legal battle against Roblox, consumer fraud lawsuit allowed to continue. On Wednesday, the court denied Roblox's motion to dismiss what the attorney general's office calls the core of the lawsuit. DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is celebrating a legal victory against the gaming company Roblox after the Iowa District Court for Polk County ruled the state's consumer fraud lawsuit could continue. On Wednesday, the court denied Roblox's motion to dismiss what the attorney general's office calls the core of the lawsuit, which includes deception and unfair practice claims. Bird and her office argue that Roblox uses unfair practices, falsely promised safety reviews of all media uploaded to its platform, intentionally misrepresented the amount of violent and sexual content on the platform and that the platform lacks sufficient parental controls. "Companies like Roblox that make false promises to parents and make money off our kids need to be held accountable. Roblox is a playground for predators and breeding ground for hyper-sexual, violent content. This ruling is a step forward in protecting our children from big tech companies," said Bird. With its decision, the court also rejected Roblox's claim that its platform is not subject to the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act since it is free to play. The court noted that the company profits from selling user data and in-game currency. "Companies operating in Iowa can't hide behind legal immunities when they actively deceive Iowans about the dangers present on their platforms," Bird said "We look forward to proving our case in court and fighting to protect Iowa families from deceptive corporate practices." Local 5 has reached out to Roblox for comment but has not yet heard back. A separate lawsuit against Roblox involves an Iowa family that alleges the gaming company routinely facilitates the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. It was moved from Iowa district court to federal court and then consolidated with around 30 others from varying states. That lawsuit asserts a 13-year-old was groomed by an adult they met on Roblox for several months. The grooming eventually led to the child being kidnapped from a home in West Des Moines and trafficked across multiple states, where they were "repeatedly sexually abused and raped."