Roblox CEO Addresses Concerns: Keep Kids Off the Platform If You Feel Uneasy

Amid ongoing debates about child safety, Roblox, a giant in the realm of online gaming, is once again in the spotlight. Recently, CEO Dave Baszucki addressed concerns by suggesting that parents who have reservations should prevent their children from using the platform. The call for enhanced safety features in online games isn’t new, but Roblox, given its vast user base, frequently becomes the focal point of these discussions.

Despite being rated T for Teen by the ESRB, Roblox’s community leans younger, making its controversies over young user safety a recurring issue. In 2023, the platform faced a class-action lawsuit alleging it wasn’t as child-friendly as advertised and failed to protect children from inappropriate content. Although the lawsuit was dismissed, it underlined the persistent worries of parents.

The scrutiny has prompted Baszucki to share his view with the BBC, emphasizing that parents hold the power to decide if Roblox is suitable for their children. He believes in the parents’ judgment regarding their kids’ safety, while highlighting that Roblox actively monitors for bullying and harassment. Despite such assurances, BBC journalists managed to set up accounts posing as a 15-year-old and a 27-year-old, successfully exchanging messages steering towards more mature games. This capability to access mature content partly explains why Roblox was recently banned in Turkey—a decision that also reflects the country’s stance on LGBTQ matters.

Baszucki responded to these findings by arguing that the need for adult conversations to migrate to other platforms suggests Roblox’s relative safety in intercepting such actions. He reiterated confidence in Roblox’s parental controls, which give guardians more tools to manage their children’s screen time, spending, and access to specific content.

Yet, despite these strides towards making Roblox a safer environment for children, the platform hasn’t had smooth sailing recently. Facing a tough fiscal quarter, Roblox experienced a 20% dip in share prices, largely attributed to plummeting sales and reduced user activity. How much parental concern factors into this financial struggle is still up for debate.

While Roblox persists as an expansive virtual universe that invites creativity and camaraderie, the challenge remains to ensure the safety and confidence of its diverse user community and their guardians.