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In brief: Roblox has been heavily criticized for its (lack of) policy on younger players in the past. In a recent interview, the company’s lead said that parents should always have the final word on what their children are allowed to play on their screens.
Parents concerned about the content or interactions their children might encounter on Roblox should keep them off the platform. Company co-founder and CEO Dave Baszucki delivered this seemingly counterintuitive message in a recent BBC interview, stating that the company is doing all it can to ensure Roblox remains a child-safe virtual environment and game world.
Baszucki expressed trust in parents to make sound decisions regarding online game safety and confidence in the effectiveness of Roblox’s safety tools and parental controls. The company contends that even one bad incident is too many and claims to monitor the platform for potentially dangerous behaviors continuously.
Moderators remain vigilant for bullying, harassment, and other negative behaviors that require filtering. Baszucki mentioned that the platform routinely conducts behavior analysis behind the scenes. Management will take action and involve law enforcement if necessary. Players who choose not to behave civilly can face temporary suspensions or permanent bans.
In November, Roblox introduced new safety measures, restricting access to social hangouts and non-rated content for players under 13. Additionally, the platform now requires creators to rate content appropriately for its intended audience. Still, parents must stay informed and alert to their children’s online activity.
Last year, Roblox averaged over 80 million daily players, outpacing the PlayStation Network and Nintendo Switch Online combined. Around 40 percent of these players are under 13. The broadcaster demonstrated how, despite the new controls and safety measures, the platform can still expose younger users to inappropriate situations.
The BBC created two fake accounts, one aged 15 and one 27, exchanging messages between the two about going elsewhere to chat or play more adult games. The automated system caught these conversations, but the reporters still figured out a way to communicate the same idea without getting filtered.
Baszucki claimed the example proves how safe Roblox has become. Ill-intentioned people know and understand the rules enough to suggest other platforms to share illicit material or have adult conversations.
“We don’t condone any type of image-sharing on our own platform, and you’ll see us getting more and more, I think, way beyond where the law is on this type of behaviour,” Baszucki said.
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