Texas in the US has joined a growing number of states suing Roblox for failing to keep children safe. Sounds like a standard consumer protection case – but beneath the surface is a much bigger phenomenon: whether digital identity will soon be the ticket to all online life.
“A digital playground for predators”
The lawsuit was filed on 6 November by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The lawsuit alleges that Roblox has “put pixelizers and corporate profits ahead of children’s safety”, allowed grooming and failed to prevent children from being exposed to sexual abuse and inappropriate content.
Paxton said in a statement, “We cannot allow platforms like Roblox to serve as digital playgrounds for predators, sacrificing the well-being of our children for corporate greed.”
Texas is the fifth state to take legal action against Roblox since August. Louisiana, Kentucky, Florida and Oklahoma are also investigating.
Roblox defends itself
The company strongly denies the allegations, describing them as “misrepresentations and sensationalism”. A Roblox spokesman said the company “shares Paxton’s concern for the safety of children” and has put in place “industry-leading safeguards” to remove abusers from the platform.
In 2025, Roblox reports that it has introduced 145 new security measures and is developing an “age rating system” to prevent adults from communicating with minors. The company is also working with the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), to which it submitted more than 24,500 reports last year.
Digital authentication as a solution?
But at the heart of the lawsuits is a wider question: should online platforms force users to prove their identity before accessing a service?
Several authorities are now pushing for regulation that would make digital authentication a mandatory part of “age verification”. In practice, this would mean that personal data, biometrics or official ID would be linked to online identity – and that access to social platforms would be impossible without it.
Data protection experts warn that such a system opens the door to a permanent surveillance structure, where a model marketed as child-protective creates a new tool for digitally monitoring the population.
Coordinated movement
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman accused Roblox in October of “building a child predator playground” by not verifying the age of users and not informing parents of the risks. Louisiana’s Liz Murrill said in August that “Roblox is full of harmful content and child predators because it puts user numbers and revenue ahead of safety.”
For his part, Florida’s James Uthmeier ordered criminal charges related to Roblox in October.
The common thread between these states is clear: in the name of child protection, the political case for extending digital authentication – first to games, later to all online transactions – is being built.
Children grow up to be a testing ground
Ironically, the very systems designed to protect children can lead to a situation where everyone has to give up their personal data in order to be online. As gaming platforms, social networking sites and public authorities start sharing identification systems, an infrastructure will be created that can be used for other purposes – from tax control to political monitoring.
One step at a time
The Roblox litigation reminds us that the expansion of digital identity does not necessarily start with governments, but with individual companies and morally strong arguments such as “child safety”.
As digital identity becomes the default, the question is no longer who is safe online – but who is allowed to be there at all.
📚 Sources
- Reclaim The Net – Texas Sues Roblox Over Child Safety Failures, Joining Multi-State Push for Digital ID
- Office of the Attorney General of Texas – Press Release (Ken Paxton, Nov 2025)
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
- Attorney General of Kentucky – Roblox Lawsuit Announcement
- Attorney General of Louisiana – Statement by Liz Murrill