Roblox is a game brimming with millions of experiences. The app is mainly a user-made platform, known for its blocky avatars and child friendly reputation with games and off-platform videos targeted towards children.
There is a serious issue, though: some corners of Roblox are rife with sexual games and experiences. On a platform with seemingly innocent imagery, games, communities and groups intended for children, these sexualized experiences create opportunities for pedophiles to take advantage of children — or, alternatively, take advantage of their sexual curiosity.
Roblox is a game intended for younger audiences but, being out to the public since 2006, has kept some of its old audience playing over the years, and even gotten some new adult attention.
This is not a bad thing on its own, but it seems like an absolute goldmine for child predators, as they have infiltrated the platform.
“We have an expert team of thousands of people dedicated to moderation and safety on Roblox 24/7,” a spokesperson from Roblox told Mashable. “We act swiftly to block inappropriate content or behavior when detected, including sexual content which violates our community standards.”
Roblox deletes inappropriate content when they see it. Deleting it when seen is a lovely thought, however, their eyes may need to be on the scene quicker if it involves children.
It truly has taken legal action for them to give any mind to the matter aside from a few spread out statements about how this type of behavior is disallowed on their site. If the large platform cares so much, why is there a game called”Really sus Public Bathroom Simulator,” going as far back as Jan. 29, with a suggestive thumbnail? One of many examples that have existed, not only implying sexuality or nudity to a young audience. Worse, it has microphone and camera access enabled. If a child is thirteen, or, more likely, lying about their age, they could communicate with those who pose a threat to them with ease.
I have no doubt in my mind that predators lurk here, along with many other games alike. Many of these titles include the word “sus,” or, oddly, “XYZ.” It is also commonplace for these games to have some type of scantily clad roblox avatar with, well, breasts, along with cat ears or a blushing face. There is a recent lawsuit against the corporation for multiple reasons, including children being exposed to virtual strip clubs, mock sexual acts between nude avatars, or inappropriate imagery in general.
“Roblox claims it goes ‘above and beyond’ to keep kids safe,” Anne Andrews, partner of participating law firm Andrews and Thornton, told PC Magazine. “But the systems that monitor lewd behavior often fail.”
The content young minds are exposed to, some of which could lead to their interactions with predators with intent to expose them to not age-appropriate content, and possibly groom them is too big for Roblox to ignore. Multiple games do not offer just sexual intercourse with an NPC, some involve sexual animations meant to be enacted upon other users, along with morphs and models with genitalia.
Most games found when researching this had no age guidelines, allowing children to chat with possible predators in sexually suggestive games, which truly reflects the need of improvement on Roblox’s end. Think of those younger kid relatives that could be exposed to such things, all while their parents, loved ones, everyone believes them to be playing an innocent web-game. Roblox needs to see more, delete more, and do more to protect their younger audiences.