Roblox faces probe over child safety concerns

Two children's advocacy groups asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to ​investigate gaming platform Roblox, according to a letter ‌shared with Reuters saying its design features and marketing techniques are “unfair and deceptive.”

The groups Fairplay and the National Center ​on Sexual Exploitation asked the FTC to ​investigate whether Roblox violated the Federal Trade Act’s ⁠section 5, according to the letter. The law ​prohibits unfair or deceptive practices affecting commerce.

The company ​is deceiving the public about the safety of its platform, the groups said in the letter. They also said Roblox ​unfairly pressures young users to spend money to ​access special in-game privileges.

The request adds to intensifying scrutiny of Roblox ‌across ⁠the world. The company is facing more than 140 lawsuits in U.S. federal court accusing it of knowingly facilitating child sexual exploitation. The lawsuits accuse ​Roblox of ​designing a platform ⁠marketed to minors that allows predators to target and contact them.

Roblox "strongly disputes" ​the claims in the letter, a spokesperson ​said. ⁠Roblox requires U.S. users to complete an age check to be able to chat with other players, and ⁠minors ​can only chat with other ​users close to their age, according to Roblox.

An FTC spokesperson declined ​to comment.

-Reuters