‘This Shouldn’t Be Happening’: Ohio Mom Raises Red Flags About Roblox Safety

A Central Ohio mother is urging parents to closely monitor their children’s use of Roblox after her 15-year-old daughter encountered sexually explicit content on the popular online gaming platform, despite the family enabling age-restriction settings, ABC affiliate News Channel 6 reported yesterday.

Brittany Griffith, of Richland County, said the explicit game appeared in her daughter’s recommended feed even though she had never searched for anything similar. Griffith shared screenshots with ABC 6 On Your Side showing the title of the game and imagery that appeared to depict sexual themes. Out of concern, Griffith asked her daughter to open the game briefly to understand what it allowed. What she saw, she said, left her unsettled. “It was terrifying that she came to me and told me this was something that could appear,” Griffith said.

Griffith said her daughter also encountered another game referencing an adult product, further heightening her concerns about the platform’s screening and age-rating system. According to screenshots provided to ABC 6, neither game displayed a maturity label, leaving Griffith worried not only for her teen but also for her younger child. “It’s a scary world,” she said. “There are predators out there, and it was something I kept thinking about.”

The teen told ABC 6 she has also received inappropriate messages through Roblox’s chat feature on multiple occasions.

Roblox, which markets itself as an expansive virtual universe of user-created games and experiences, reports nearly 112 million daily active users. Company data suggests roughly 40 million of those users are 13 or younger—making safety controls a critical issue for many families.

ABC 6 reviewed a growing number of lawsuits filed against Roblox in at least 10 states. These lawsuits allege the company failed to protect young users from inappropriate content, grooming attempts, and interactions with online predators.

Locally, Sgt. Joe Smith of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, who works with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said there is “not an insignificant amount of cases” involving Roblox, though it remains difficult to track offenders. “I hesitate to say it’s safe or unsafe,” Smith said. “It’s online.” He noted that suspects in these cases are often located outside the United States, complicating investigations and arrests.

Smith said inappropriate online rooms and conversations are a known issue on platforms with large child user-bases. In many cases, he said, adults attempt to persuade children to leave Roblox and move to less moderated platforms. “Families should be aware this is something that is happening,” Smith said.

In a statement to ABC 6, a Roblox spokesperson said user safety is “a top priority” for the company. Roblox noted it has strict policies for younger users, including filtered chat, blocking the sharing of images, and preventing the exchange of personal information. “While no system is perfect,” the spokesperson said, “we encourage anyone to report content or behavior that may not comply with our policies by using our Report Abuse feature.”

Roblox also pointed to several recent safety initiatives: updated parental controls, maturity labels, advanced AI monitoring for both voice and text chat, and voluntary facial-age estimation technology that helps verify a user’s age through a selfie-video.

Griffith said she and her husband have now created Roblox accounts to monitor their daughters’ activity and are considering blocking the platform altogether. “I want them to know I’m here to protect them,” she said.

According to state records, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has received 10 complaints about Roblox, including three involving concerns about children’s online safety. The office advises families to maintain open conversations about safety settings, discuss unsafe interactions with strangers, avoid accepting unknown friend requests, and consider creating parent accounts to follow or “friend” their children. Parents are also encouraged to regularly review privacy settings and age-limit controls on all online platforms.