TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Wednesday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Roblox — a popular online gaming platform — for information about how it markets to children, according to the AG’s office.
In a release, AG officials said that there have been a myriad of reports regarding children being exposed to “graphic or harmful material” while using Roblox, as well as predatory adults messaging minors freely via the app.
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“As a father and Attorney General, children’s safety and protection are a top priority," Uthmeier said. “There are concerning reports that this gaming platform, which is popular among children, is exposing them to harmful content and bad actors. We are issuing a subpoena to Roblox to uncover how this platform is marketing to children and to see what policies they are implementing — if any — to avoid interactions with predators.”
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The release states that Roblox features millions of games and interactive environments for children to engage with.
“The platform develops some of the content, but much of the content is created by users,” the release reads. “In 2024, Roblox had more than 85 million daily active users, an estimated 40% of whom being under the age of 13.”
In fact, Roblox was the app used by a middle school employee in Orange County who investigators said pushed two young boys to commit sex acts over video chat.
That man — Italo Bonini, 25 — allegedly offered an 8-year-old boy and his younger brother “Robux” (an in-game currency used in Roblox) in exchange for those acts, court records show.
According to the release, Uthmeier is demanding that Roblox produce the following information:
- Documents sufficient to show the amount of time spent on the platform broken down by age for all users 16 years of age or younger;
- Examples of all marketing materials that relate to the platform’s suitability for children;
- Documents relating to the marketing of the platform to young customers or youngest demographic—including but not limited to the use of promotions and giveaways, social media platforms, celebrities, social media influencers, and cartoon images. This specification includes all internal documents, including marketing plans and use of social networks;
- Documents reflecting the steps Roblox take to ensure children are not exposed to mature content on the platform;
- Communications to or from a Florida user reporting abuse to Roblox;
- Communications to or from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children relating to Florida users;
- Communications relating to parental controls being circumvented by children using the platform;
- Documents sufficient to describe chat and game moderation capabilities;
- Documents sufficient to show the age verification procedures used relating to child users creating accounts on Roblox and any audits thereof;
- Documents sufficient to identify employees who have been responsible for creating and enforcing age verification protocols; and
- Documents relating to any criminal prosecution of which the platform is aware, arising or alleged to have arisen from children’s contact with chat room users.
