US Senate Launches Bipartisan Investigation Into Roblox Over Child Safety
Two US senators have launched a congressional investigation into Roblox, the online gaming platform played by tens of millions of children, over concerns about child sexual exploitation on the service.
Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri and Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois — chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which is leading the probe — sent a letter to Roblox Corporation dated August 12, 2026, demanding records and testimony. The senators announced the investigation publicly on August 13. Politico
In an open letter, Hawley and Durbin wrote that Roblox reported 65,381 instances of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025. That figure more than doubled the platform's 2024 report to the same organisation. The investigation is instructing Roblox to preserve its records and turn over certain documents by August 31. GameSpot
The probe seeks to determine what Roblox knew about safety risks to children, how the company may have profited from the platform, and what steps it has taken to address those risks. Senators are also requiring CEO David Baszucki to provide evidence on how Roblox will better police itself.
Roblox chief safety officer Matt Kaufman responded that the company is "built on the foundation of safety" and looks forward to sharing facts about how it protects children on the platform. GameSpot
The Senate investigation follows a wave of legal actions against Roblox at the state and international level. Roblox Corporation agreed to pay more than US$12 million to the state of Nevada as part of an effort to create a safer environment for its young users. The Attorney General of Texas has sued the company over child-exploitation accusations. Florida's Attorney General has described Roblox as a breeding ground for predators and opened her own investigation. Australian lawmakers have separately put the platform under scrutiny over reports of grooming and sexual content.
For context, Roblox is not a single game but a platform where users create and play millions of user-built experiences — a model that makes content moderation especially complex, since most of what players encounter is made by other users rather than the company itself.
The bipartisan push also comes amid broader Senate efforts to advance new children's online safety legislation and curb child sexual exploitation across the tech industry. Hawley's office published a press release on August 13 under the title "Hawley, Durbin Launch Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse on Roblox." Hawley Senate Office
The document deadline of August 31 now sets the next clock for the investigation — the point at which Roblox must begin turning over the records senators have requested.
