WASHINGTON, D.C. — Advocacy groups Fairplay and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission asking it to investigate Roblox for alleged unfair and deceptive practices targeting children. The complaint raised concerns about in-game purchases, chat features, and "engagement-maximising" design, alleging that children as young as five are at risk of being contacted by strangers and pressured into spending money on the platform.

The filing focused on Roblox's in-game economy, including the virtual currency Robux, which can be purchased and used to buy game passes or avatar upgrades. The complaint stated that tracking the real-world cost of virtual items was nearly impossible, and cited a case in which a 10-year-old girl spent more than $7,000 in two months despite attempts to limit purchases. It alleged the platform uses daily reward streaks and displays of other players' virtual possessions to encourage social comparison, and that some experiences use gambling-like mechanics such as loot boxes or chance-based rewards. The complaint also criticized Roblox for using scarcity marketing to encourage children to spend money on time-limited virtual items.

Safety advocates suggested Roblox may be violating Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act by unfairly marketing digital currencies to children, using addictive design features, and making deceptive claims about the platform's safety for minors.

"Parents are doing everything they can to protect their children on Roblox, but it's not a fair fight. The platform is designed to take advantage of kids' developmental needs and prey on their vulnerabilities," said Ashwin Verghese, communications director at Fairplay. He added: "Parents deserve to know that their children will be safe on Roblox, and we are calling on the FTC to make sure that happens."

The complaint also referenced cases of grooming and exploitation on the platform. In October, researchers created a test account registered to a five-year-old and were immediately granted access to dating, romance, and voice chat experiences connecting them to strangers. A mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit in September 2025 after an autistic teenager died by suicide following a sextortion plot by someone who contacted him on Roblox. More than 140 pending lawsuits in federal courts accuse Roblox of facilitating child sexual exploitation.

A Roblox spokesperson said the platform was "built for fun and connection, not short-term engagement." The spokesperson said Roblox had clear policies banning actual and simulated gambling and rules governing paid random items, that most games are free to play, and that in the first quarter of 2026 only 1.4% of the platform's 132 million daily active users were payers. Roblox blocked children from chatting with adults and used age-estimation technology to place them in age-appropriate accounts. Earlier this year, the company began requiring users to submit to an age check, and rolled out age-based account settings for users aged 5 to 8 and 9 to 15, with the launch expected in June.

"While Roblox is rolling out new age-based protection features, young gamers are digital escape artists who easily bypass safety features," said Drew Benvie, chief executive of social media consultancy Battenhall and founder of Raise. He added: "What's needed is greater user and parental awareness of the impact social features in games can have on children, as well as wide scale legislative changes to address addictive or problematic features, not just the digital sticking plaster of age limits." Roblox generated $4.9 billion in revenue in 2025, a 36% increase from the previous year, according to company figures. The FTC has not indicated whether it will open a formal investigation.