Charge Holds Roblox & Negligent Gaming Platforms Accountable for Child Safety Risks

AUSTIN, Texas — Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows today issued an additional interim charge focused on strengthening child safety and enforcing accountability for online gaming platforms that have failed to address widespread harmful content and risks to minors.

Building on the initial release of House interim charges, this additional directive to the House Committee on State Affairs targets serious failures by gaming platforms like Roblox—where exploitative content and nominal safeguards are exposing Texas children to ongoing endangerment. The charge calls for closer examination of content moderation practices, enforcement gaps, and the adequacy of existing child safety protections.

“The Texas House will always put the safety of our children first,” said Speaker Burrows. “After Representative Don McLaughlin of Uvalde brought to my attention a Roblox first-person shooter game simulating the tragedy at Robb Elementary in graphic detail, it became clear this content—and the failure to stop it—demands immediate action. Turning an unspeakable act of violence, whose scars remain across the Uvalde community, into entertainment is a profound moral failure. When directed at children, it goes beyond poor taste and crosses into dangerous territory. It reflects a platform that permits exploitation and shock value at the expense of basic human decency—risking further harm and the erosion of moral judgment at an impressionable age.

“With nearly 40 percent of Roblox’s 144 million daily users under the age of 13, there is no excuse for performative safeguards or indifferent oversight. The State of Texas demands accountability—not a system that profits from violence and provocation while exposing young minds to hateful content. Lawmakers cannot stand by while a platform aimed at children enables and monetizes this kind of abuse.”

Speaker Burrows directed the House Committee on State Affairs to examine the prevalence of inappropriate virtual experiences on gaming platforms, including violent and sexually explicit content and communication between minors and adult strangers. The committee is tasked with recommending solutions to better protect Texas children from exploitation, limit exposure to harmful content, and strengthen accountability and legal recourse.

“Having chaired the 2022 House committee investigation into the tragedy at Robb Elementary, I appreciate Representative McLaughlin building on this effort to better protect our next generation,” said Speaker Burrows. “Roblox’s repeated failure to curb violent content and predatory ecosystems is well documented—from simulations of mass shootings and Nazi atrocities to reports of child exploitation and grooming. These are not isolated incidents; they point to systemic failures in oversight. I welcome the committee’s work to ensure the House is prepared to act in the 90th Legislative Session.”

Read Speaker Burrows’ supplemental House interim charge for State Affairs.