By Movieguide® Staff
After Roblox was used in the attempted kidnapping of two Florida teens, parents everywhere are concerned about the safety features of the gaming site.
“We talk regularly about the importance of parents and family members being vigilant about grooming and social media platforms and the impact it has on kids,” Sheriff John Budensiek said of the attempted kidnapping. “And in this case, I think we prevented something disastrous.”
Two sisters, ages 12 and 15, were recovered after being abducted by Hser Mu Lah Say, a 19-year-old American citizen from Omaha, Nebraska. Say had been grooming the sisters through Roblox, messaging the teens and sending them gifts.
Related: Roblox Enabled Young Girl’s Abduction. Now Her Parents Are Suing.
“There is no application online that’s safe,” Budensiek told parents. “If you can communicate with somebody away from your house in the quiet of your own room, it can be a problem. So parents have to be vigilant.”
Roblox is a popular gaming platform where players can build, play and communicate with people around the world. It is rated ages 9 and up, but younger children can make accounts with parental permission.
“The company groups users by age categories and applies different default settings based on whether an account holder is under or over 13 years old,” GOOD MORNING AMERICA noted. “Accounts for younger users are automatically placed under stricter communication and content settings.”
There are also several parental control features, such as a PIN to lock settings and prevent children from changing them, chat controls that limit who children can talk to online and activity reports that let parents know exactly what their children are doing while online.
“Roblox is designed to be a fun, educational, engaging experience that provides opportunities for users to connect with their peers and creatively collaborate. Our commitment to the safety and well-being of our community is foundational to everything we do,” Eliza Jacobs, senior director of product policy at Roblox, told ABC News.
She continued, “Many children play games online, and we encourage parents to talk to their kids about the platforms they play on, the games they are playing, and online safety…No system is perfect, which is why we are consistently evolving and launching new safety tools to help protect users and give more control to parents and caregivers.”
Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director of The National Association for Media Literacy Education, remarked on Roblox’s updated safety issues, saying, “As media literacy experts, we commend efforts to improve safeguards, mitigate risk, and give parents and kids an opportunity to engage together around important topics like privacy and security. NAMLE is proud to partner with Roblox and support their commitment to making the online space safer and more civil for young people.”
While Roblox has been vigilant about keeping their safety features updated, parents must remain aware when it comes to how their children are spending their time online.
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