Roblox Loses Bid to Stop L.A. County Lawsuit Over Alleged Child Sex Exploitation

Roblox failed in two attempts to stop a Los Angeles County lawsuit accusing the gaming platform of exposing children to sexual predators, grooming and sexually explicit content while promoting itself as safe for young users.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dean J. Kitchens rejected Roblox’s challenge to the case and denied the company’s separate anti-SLAPP motion. The rulings keep the county’s claims for public nuisance, false advertising and unfair competition in court.

Los Angeles County sued Roblox in February on behalf of the People of California, alleging the company failed to put adequate moderation and age-verification safeguards in place despite the platform’s large child audience. County officials said Roblox had more than 151 million daily active users, with more than 40% of users under age 13.

Roblox argued that Section 230 and the First Amendment protected it from the county’s claims. Section 230 generally shields online platforms from liability for content created by third parties.

Kitchens found that the county is challenging Roblox’s own conduct, including its age-verification and safety systems, rather than simply trying to hold the company responsible for what users post.

Roblox also invoked California’s anti-SLAPP law, which allows defendants to seek early dismissal of claims tied to protected speech or activity. Roblox targeted the county’s public nuisance and unfair competition claims, but Kitchens found the county had shown enough at this stage for those claims to continue.

The judge also found that the statements challenged by the county involved commercial speech, rejecting Roblox’s argument that those portions of the case were protected by the First Amendment.

Los Angeles County alleges that Roblox allowed adults to pose as minors and interact with children while continuing to promote the platform as safe for young users. The complaint says inadequate age verification, moderation and other safeguards allowed predators to contact and groom young users.

The county also says parents and children were not adequately warned about the risks they could encounter on the platform. The complaint describes sexually explicit content, inappropriate communications and alleged exploitation involving users who initially encountered children through Roblox.

The county is asking the court to order changes to the platform, require restitution and address what it describes as a public nuisance. It also seeks civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation of California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws.

Roblox disputes the allegations and says it has taken extensive steps to protect younger users. The company says it uses systems to detect harmful content and communications, prohibits users from exchanging images through Roblox chat and works with law enforcement when potentially dangerous activity is identified.

Roblox has also expanded its age-verification measures. In January, the company rolled out age checks for access to chat in regions where the feature is available, using facial age estimation or other verification methods. Verified users are placed into age groups intended to reduce direct communication between adults and children under 16.

The complaint also focuses on how easily users have historically been able to create accounts. Los Angeles County alleges Roblox relied on users to enter their own birth dates without adequately verifying their ages and knew about reports of predators and exploitation while continuing to market the platform to children and parents.

The lawsuit adds to growing legal scrutiny of child safety on Roblox. Louisiana’s attorney general sued the company in 2025 over allegations that Roblox failed to protect children from sexual exploitation and misrepresented the safety of its platform. Families have also brought separate lawsuits alleging children encountered predators through Roblox.

Los Angeles County has described its case as the first lawsuit brought by a California governmental entity targeting Roblox over alleged child endangerment and exploitation.

A case management conference is scheduled for Nov. 13.