Roblox has come under immense scrutiny in recent months regarding its child safety protections. With alleged child abusers wrongfully using the platform and reports of Roblox black markets, the company is strengthening its policies. Per Bloomberg, Roblox Corporation is enacting a feature where children under the age of 13 will need parental permission to use the platform’s chat features.
Additionally, children under 9 will need permission to play games with “moderate violence or crude humor.” Further, the company is introducing a new type of account. This will allow parents to monitor their child’s friends and online activities. In an email sent to parents, Roblox Corporation assured the changes “are part of Roblox’s commitment to making the platform one of the safest online environments for our users, particularly the youngest users.”
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For context, the platform has been heavily criticized for not doing enough to protect its young users. Bloomberg conducted an investigation where police had arrested at least two dozen people. They’d been accused of grooming, abusing, or abducting young Roblox users. It’s estimated that at least 40% of Roblox’s 80 million daily active accounts are under 13 years of age.
roblox, the internet, and the ongoing child abuse crisis
It would be easy to exclusively blame Roblox Corporation for the mistreatment of children online — and, yes, the company holds a measure of culpability. However, the internet, sadly, has historically done a lackluster job of protecting children from harm. From the early internet days of older people pretending to be younger, manipulating and tricking children, there have always been ways in which online systems have been exploited to target children.
Where there’s money to be made, it’s typical for companies to be lax in prioritizing the safety of their users — a bigger problem beyond Roblox Corporation. Granted, it’s good to see the company taking accountability and implementing changes to safeguard its younger player base. However, this should be one indictment of many to come regarding online child safety. Yes, they deserve to play their games freely and without worry. But their experiences need to be the focus over profits, first.
