By India McCarty
Millions of kids love playing Roblox, an online gaming platform, but some parents warn about the hidden dangers of the gaming community.
“While Roblox has tried to restrain sexual content from its servers, there have been many instances of users encountering it and engaging in games with adult content, themes, and activity,” Laura Ordoñez, the executive editor and head of digital media and family at Common Sense Media, told Parents. “Bad actors are constantly finding ways to bypass the platform’s moderation systems, exposing kids to content that is profane, violent, sexual, or racist in nature.”
For example, a since-deleted TikTok showed one dad detailing the “sexually explicit content” his 5-year-old daughter accidentally saw while using Roblox.
Another parent, mother Jessica Milburn, re-shared his video and wrote in a caption, “Roblox is one thing I do not allow ever. I’ve had to remove it and block it before, but there are no exceptions with this in my house. I also don’t allow them to watch videos of people playing Roblox.”
Related: Roblox Isn’t Safe for Your Kids. In Fact, It’s a ‘Pedophile Hellscape’
Roblox has hit back at critics, pointing to its safety features, like parental controls, the ability for parents to see their child’s friend list and setting screen time and spending limits.
“We realize that no platform is perfect, but we prioritize trust and safety because it’s core to what we do as a company. This is an area where we invest heavily and are always innovating,” the platform shared in a recent statement. “Helping keep our users safe is a critical part of our vision of connecting a billion people with optimism and civility and is a strategic imperative for our creator community. Our aim is to provide a development platform that allows creators to focus on their craft while we manage the complexities of moderation, fielding user reports, and investigating bad actors.”
However, the gaming platform has faced many lawsuits recently; most recently, a suit filed by a mother who claims her 15-year-old son was groomed and coerced to send explicit images on the website, which eventually led to him taking his own life.
The suit alleges that, had Roblox and messaging website Discord taken steps to verify the ages and identities of their users, “[He] would have never interacted with this predator, never suffered the harm that he did, and never died by suicide.”
“These restrictions don’t necessarily prevent kids from accessing negative content but just filter out some negative content they may come across,” Ordoñez said of Roblox’s safety features. “Roblox attempts to police itself, so a lot of dangerous content gets pulled down when it’s found, but it can easily be re-uploaded within a matter of seconds.”
For concerned parents, Ordoñez advised staying aware of what your child is doing online, as well as who they’re playing and chatting with. It’s also important to make sure your kid sees you as a “safe space” to share any inappropriate or upsetting things they see online.
Roblox might seem like a safe site to let your kids spend time on but, like any online platform, there are still plenty of risks involved.
Read Next: Kids Exposed to Pornographic Images, Simulated Sex Acts in Roblox Games
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