(Des Moines) Attorney General Brenna Bird announced a victory today in her ongoing effort to protect children and hold big tech companies accountable. On May 13, 2026, the Iowa District Court for Polk County issued a ruling allowing Iowa’s consumer fraud lawsuit against Roblox Corporation to move forward.
The Court denied Roblox’s attempt to dismiss the core of Iowa’s lawsuit and determined that the suit may move forward with its deception claims and certain unfair practice claims. The claims maintain that Roblox purposefully misled parents by misrepresenting both the quantity and the quality of its safety tools.
The Court’s decision allows the following arguments made by the Attorney General’s Office to continue:
Roblox falsely promised a “safety review of every uploaded image, audio, and video file” to create a false sense of security.
Roblox intentionally misrepresented the amount of violent and sexual content on its platform to secure lower age ratings on various app stores.
Roblox uses unfair practices, including the default allowance of adult-child communications and the misleading implementation of in-game currency.
Roblox lacks sufficient parental controls and fails to warn users about potential harm.
Importantly, the Court rejected Roblox’s attempt to evade the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act by arguing its platform is not “merchandise” simply because it is free to play. Noting that Roblox profits by selling user data and in-game currency, the Court ruled that exempting companies like Roblox under their “free” argument would “create a large loophole.”
“Companies like Roblox that make false promises to parents and make money off our kids need to be held accountable. Roblox is a playground for predators and breeding ground for hyper-sexual, violent content. This ruling is a step forward in protecting our children from big tech companies,” said Attorney General Bird. “Companies operating in Iowa can’t hide behind legal immunities when they actively deceive Iowans about the dangers present on their platforms. We look forward to proving our case in court and fighting to protect Iowa families from deceptive corporate practices.”
The case, State of Iowa vs. Roblox Corporation, will now proceed in Polk County.
