Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Tesla blames drivers for part failures it admits were defective

2025-08-21T00:01:59Z

RuefulSeraph: Couldn't find any super verifiable sources so I mostly cited the Reuters investigation and trade/popular sources

{{Stub}}

{{IncidentCargo
|Company=Tesla
|StartDate=2023-12-20
|EndDate=2024
|Status=Resolved
|Product=Tesla Model S, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model X, Tesla Model Y
|ArticleType=Product
|Type=Knowingly selling defective product
|Description=Wheels falling off at speed and other safety incidents caused by defective parts where the blame and cost was placed on the consumer.
}}
'''[[Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]]''' produced various automotive vehicles that were involved in several safety-related incidents, and in some cases where design or manufacturing errors were involved the company allegedly stated the owner of the vehicle was fully responsible. A December 2023 ''Reuters'' investigation<ref name = ":1">{{Cite web |last=Jin |first=Hyunjoo |last2=Krolicki |first2=Kevin |last3=Mannes |first3=Marie |last4=Stecklow |first4=Steve |date=2023-12-20 |title=Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=Reuters {{!}} Breaking International News & Views |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820181027/https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/ |archive-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> reveals faulty parts in Tesla vehicles have caused incidents of wheels falling off at speed, axles breaking under acceleration, control arms failing and the suspension collapsing without evidence of direct impact. Tesla told U.S. regulators and service centers the failures were due to "vehicle misuse" despite the fact that internal documents show Tesla had been tracking these chronic flaws for years.

==Background==
{{Ph-I-B}}
Many Tesla models of consumer vehicles use the same or similar parts and components for necessary functionality, such as parts of the suspension subassembly and steering controls.{{Citation needed}} Therefore, any flaws in the design or manufacturing of Tesla vehicles that are repeated across products will increase the likelihood of accidents regardless of the model they use. Tesla models S, 3, X, and Y each have different suspension designs,<ref>{{Cite web | title=Suspension in Tesla Model S, 3, X, Y Everything You Need to Know |url=https://suspensionhq.com/suspension-in-tesla-model-s-3-x-y-everything-you-need-to-know/ |website=Suspension HQ | date=2023-09-05 |last=AriNS |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> and the Model 3 is the only of the four to strictly use a [[wikipedia:Coil spring|coil-spring]] suspension system as opposed to [[wikipedia:Air suspension|air suspension]], but design features are consistent across models.{{Citation needed}} Tesla Model S vehicles were first delivered to consumers in June 2012,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tesla Model S Sales Figures |url=https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/tesla-model-s-sales-figures-usa-canada/ |website=Good Car Bad Car |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820233406/https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/tesla-model-s-sales-figures-usa-canada/ |archive-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> and some of these models continue to be sold. However, steering and suspension issues are most widely known in the other three models.<ref name = ":2">{{Cite web |title=Tesla Steering and Suspension Issues Key Takeaways |url=https://consumerlemonlaw.org/news/tesla-lemon-law-suspension-steering-issue-is-a-chronic-defect/ |website=Tesla Lemon Law |date=2023-12-21 |last=Paniagua |first=Cynthia |access-date=2025-08-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820234154/https://consumerlemonlaw.org/news/tesla-lemon-law-suspension-steering-issue-is-a-chronic-defect/ |archive-date=2025-08-20}}</ref>

==Tesla drivers lost control over their vehicles but were held fully responsible for accidents==
{{Ph-I-I}}
Shreyansh Jain purchased a brand-new 2023 Tesla Model Y and, less than 24 hours after purchase, lost steering control while turning at a low rate of speed with only 115 miles on the odometer.<ref name = ":1" /> His wife and three-year-old child were passengers and according to Jain "were absolutely petrified".<ref name = ":1" /> On top of the trauma caused by the accident, the Model Y sustained a collapse of the front-right suspension and superficial damage.<ref name = ":1" /><ref name = ":2" /> Tesla stated that this was due to "the separation of a lower control arm from the steering knuckle, which the company blamed on 'prior' damage to the brand-new vehicle".<ref name = ":1" />A text communication between Jain and a Tesla representative "implied Tesla would pay for the repairs",<ref name = ":1" />, but Tesla sent a letter to him a week later stating that Tesla was not responsible because their inspection led them to believe there was "a prior external influenced damage to the front-right suspension."<ref name =":1" /> Tesla did not cover any of the over US$14,000 repairs because they believed the damage to the suspension happened earlier.<ref name = ":1" /><ref name = ":2" /> However, Tesla had prior knowledge of the defect because Tesla documents referred to "tens of thousands of Tesla owners" that also had "experienced premature failures of suspension or steering parts" across multiple product lines and at least seven years of history with these incidents.<ref name = ":1" />

Some of the reported accidents occurred due to Tesla vehicles self-disassembling while in operation. One report by a Tesla technician over an April 2021 incident regarding a 2020 Tesla Model 3, having less than 15,000 miles on the odometer, contained the sentence "Front wheel fell off while driving on Autopilot at 60 mph".<ref name = ":1" /><ref name = ":2" />

''Reuters'' previously investigated Tesla for their creation of a team to in July 2023 to suppress complaints over Tesla vehicle driving range,{{Citation needed}} which is an issue in electric vehicles where they have a limited distance before they must be recharged. Tesla, because they are direct vendors and have extensive records of failures and claims,<ref name = ":1" /> therefore knew of this flaw.

===Tesla's response===
{{Ph-I-ComR}}

Eight days after the Reuters investigation was published, Tesla responded<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-28 |title=Addressing Misleading Claims |url=https://www.tesla.com/blog/addressing-misleading-claims |url-status=live |website=Electric Cars, Solar & Clean Energy {{!}} Tesla}}</ref> with a post on the platform [[X Corp|X (formerly known as Twitter)]] criticizing the investigation and its "wildly misleading" headline. As a response to the specific incident of Shreyansh Jain’s 2023 Tesla Model Y, Tesla pointed out that the [https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/assets/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/20230329_120734-2-crop.jpg customer photo] represents the component was involved in a crash, and says "Most, if not all, manufacturer warranties exclude damages caused by a crash because that is the point of insurance coverage.<ref name=":0" />" Tesla also pointed out that as mentioned in the original Reuters article<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension|title=Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective|first1=Hyunjoo|last1=Jin|first2=Kevin|last2=Krolicki|first3=Marie|last3=Mannes|first4=Steve|last4=Stecklow|date=2023-12-20|work=Reuters|access-date=2025-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124041722/https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/|archive-date=2025-01-24|url-status=live}}</ref>, Tesla paid for most of 120,000 vehicles covered under warranty when upper control arm failures were discovered in the Model S and Model X.

Tesla reiterates their service is not incentivized to profit off repair needs, that it is often done using a convenient OTA (Over-the-Air) update process and mobile service to the customer's home or workplace, and Tesla quotes a maintenance study<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://autos.yahoo.com/tesla-named-cheapest-luxury-car-110000613.html|title=Tesla was named the cheapest luxury car brand to maintain, and the internet has thoughts: ‘I will never own a gas car again’|first=Laurelle|last=Stelle|date=2023-11-29|work=TheCoolDown|access-date=2025-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109095610/https://autos.yahoo.com/tesla-named-cheapest-luxury-car-110000613.html|archive-date=2024-11-09|url-status=live}}</ref> to conclude "The numbers don’t lie in terms of repeat sales and customer satisfaction," while claiming Reuters' journalism was "cherry-picking" for negative information.

==Lawsuit==
{{Ph-I-L}}
Some consumers of Tesla products may be eligible to take legal action against Tesla if their personal incident meets certain criteria.<ref name = ":2" /> Following the Jain family's incident, public figures such as U.S. Senators [[wikipedia:Richard Blumenthal|Richard Blumenthal]] and [[wikipedia:Ed Markey|Edward John Markey]] called for a recall of the allegedly defective models, and they encouraged Tesla to communicate with the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) about these issues.<ref name = ":3">{{Cite web |title=Lemon Alert: U.S. Senators Demand Recall on Tesla's Steering and Suspension Safety Crisis |url=https://consumerlemonlaw.org/news/us-sentators-calls-for-recall-tesla-steering-suspension-problem/ |website=Tesla Lemon Law |last=Peniagua |first=Cynthia |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820235013/https://consumerlemonlaw.org/news/us-sentators-calls-for-recall-tesla-steering-suspension-problem/ |archive-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> Additionally, Norwegian and Swedish agencies are also investigating Tesla suspension failures, which may lead to further lawsuits or recalls.<ref name = ":1" /><ref name = ":3" />

==Consumer response==
{{Ph-I-ConR}}

==See also==
* [[Tesla asks customers to vote against Right to Repair]]
* [[Tesla cybertruck voids warranty if advertised power your site feature is used]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Tesla]]
[[Category:Tesla Model S]]
[[Category:Tesla Model 3]]
[[Category:Tesla Model X]]
[[Category:Tesla Model Y]]
[[Category:Anti-Consumer Practices]]
[[Category:Automotive security]]

Roblox

2025-08-19T22:47:05Z

RuefulSeraph: Very minor styling changes and the replacement of an adverb

{{Incomplete}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Roblox
| Type = Company
| Founded = 2004
| Industry = Gaming
| Official Website = https://roblox.com/
| Logo = Roblox.svg
}}

[[wikipedia:Roblox|'''Roblox''']] is an online platform which lets users create their own games, as well as all sorts of virtual items for their personal avatars. The platform is owned by the Roblox Corporation.

Users create games through Roblox Studio, an application separate from the Roblox Player.{{Citation needed}} Roblox Studio can be used by a user to create digital backups of the games they create. These backups are stored on their hard drive and can not be altered by the Roblox Corporation.{{Citation needed}}

==Consumer impact summary==
{{Incomplete section}}

* User freedom: Documented in section 11 of the Roblox Terms of Use,<ref>https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004647846-Roblox-Terms-of-Use#dispute-resolution-user-roblox</ref> the user agrees to resolve disputes through Mandatory Informal Dispute Resolution (MIDR).<ref>https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004647846-Roblox-Terms-of-Use#dispute-resolution-user-roblox</ref> If MIDR does not resolve a dispute, users within the United States are forced to proceed under [[Forced arbitration|binding arbitration]].{{Citation needed}} In order to initiate MIDR, users are required to send a physically-written notice by certified mail or through Federal Express.{{Citation needed}}
*User privacy: All operations related to Roblox must, to some extent, occur on servers that Roblox owns. For example, it is nearly impossible to play a Roblox game without interacting with the Roblox servers. Roblox servers are not end to end encrypted,{{Citation needed}} allowing possible vulnerabilities.{{Citation needed}} Roblox explicitly states that they monitor all user activity to see if it complies with their rules.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restricted Content Policy |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004630823-Roblox-Privacy-and-Cookie-Policy#posting-content |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Posting content}}</ref>
* Business model: Roblox profits off of an exclusive currency purchased with real-world currency called ''Robux'', and it is often used an an intermediary for microtransactions on the platform for user-generated content (UGC) such as cosmetics.{{Citation needed}} Roblox is known to also make money off of collaborations that function as advertisements, such as with IKEA.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 3, 2024 |title=IKEA is opening a new store on Roblox… and you could be paid to work there! |url=https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/newsroom/corporate-news/ikea-is-opening-a-new-store-on-roblox-pub8a9272d0/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Ikea}}</ref>
*Market competition: Various platforms such as [[Epic Games]]' [[Fortnite]] have been known to emulate how Roblox works.{{Citation needed}} Very few however, are successful in competing against them.
* Other information: The Roblox Corporation can terminate (delete) a user's account as long as they believe they are violating the Terms of Use.<ref name = ":1">{{Cite web |date=Last updated 25 Jul 2025 |title=Roblox Terms of Use |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004647846-Roblox-Terms-of-Use |url-status=live |access-date=Aug 12 2025 |website=Roblox |page=Section 2}}</ref> Termination can not be revoked.<ref name=":1" /> A terminated user will lose all content they own on Roblox along with their account, including what they purchased with Robux.<ref name=":1" />

==Monetization==
Roblox is a free{{Citation needed}} service which features in-game purchases made with Robux, e.g. new accessories, exclusive content in certain games, and the ability to access certain games.{{Citation needed}} All items purchased on Roblox are stored on Roblox servers alone,{{Citation needed}} so Roblox has the ability to modify or delete the items you own.{{Citation needed}}

On September 9, 2021, Roblox launched an automated process for users to receive Robux back for items they had bought which had been deleted or otherwise moderated <ref>https://www.roblox.com/modcreditagreement/974158ba-99f0-4915-8fde-5b07b3cbbe09</ref> . Until then, there was no refund method in place.{{Citation needed}}

==Incidents==

===Accusations of child labor===

In January 2022, ''The Guardian'' published a story accusing Roblox of profiting off child labor with detailed stories of teenagers being scammed and becoming victims of sexual grooming in communities conveniently off the platform.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/jan/09/the-trouble-with-roblox-the-video-game-empire-built-on-child-labour</ref> In October 2022, the first of many lawsuits alleging Roblox enabled a girl's sexual exploitation was filed.<ref>https://www.reuters.com/legal/game-company-roblox-enabled-girls-sexual-exploitation-lawsuit-claims-2022-10-05/</ref>

===Blocking Linux users===
In April 2023, Roblox intentionally blocked Linux users playing the game via Wine, a tool used for running Windows apps on POSIX-compliant operating systems, they cite "security and compatibility concerns."<ref>{{Cite web |title= Devforum Post by MrEaker of Roblox |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-new-roblox-64-bit-byfron-client-forbids-wine-users-from-using-it-most-likely-unintentional/2305528/2}}</ref> This announcement followed Roblox's acquisition of Byfron, as well as their developments towards a 64-bit Roblox client.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devforum Post by Roblox Announcing Byfron Acquisition|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/welcoming-byfron-to-roblox/2018233}}</ref> Despite this change to the client, users were still able to access Roblox Studio, the development application, utilizing Wine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devforum Post by Bitdancer regarding Studio|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-new-roblox-64-bit-byfron-client-forbids-wine-users-from-using-it-most-likely-unintentional/2305528/34}}</ref> In August 2023, an update to Roblox once again allowed users to run Roblox via Wine, and many users opted to use a fork of Wine titled Vinegar made specifically for Roblox.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Devforum Post Discussing Roblox on Linux |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/vinegar-the-better-way-to-run-roblox-on-linux/2224394/24}}</ref> In February of 2024, Roblox would go back on their decision and ban the use of Wine for the Roblox Client, citing extended use of Wine-based exploits, Roblox Studio remains available under wine.<ref>{{Cite web |title= VinegarHQ 2024 Roblox on Linux Block FAQ |url=https://vinegarhq.org/Home/rol_faq.html}}</ref> In August 2024, the Vinegar team would release Sober, a closed-source application utilizing a translation layer to access the Roblox client via a mobile Android package kit (APK).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sober - Roblox on Linux |url=https://sober.vinegarhq.org/ |access-date=12 Aug 2025}}</ref> In April 2025, Roblox engineer Bitdancer would state on the Roblox Devforums that they see no reason to block Sober, but that they may disable it as a side effect of changes in security. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Devforum Post by Bitdancer regarding Sober|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/roblox-security-changes-break-nvidia-ansel-vulkan-layer-support/3601172/40}}</ref>

===Problematic moderation===
{{Main|Roblox's problematic moderation}}
Roblox as a platform has been known by consumers to moderate content in ways that are inconsistent. The platform's chat moderation feature censors inoffensive speech,<ref>{{Cite web |last=u/Gregheffley95 |date=Feb 26, 2021 |title=Roblox censors almost everything |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619214011/https://old.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |archive-date=Jun 19, 2023 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref> including numbers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Mar 7, 2017 |title=Why the hell are numbers censored! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/5y0w3z/why_the_hell_are_numbers_censored/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/Roblox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JParty |date=Feb 24, 2017 |title=Updates to Chat Privacy API + New Account Indicators + Changes to Text Filtering APIs |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/updates-to-chat-privacy-api-new-account-indicators-changes-to-text-filtering-apis/33867 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Dev Forum}}</ref>

In recent years, moderation has been documented to neglect handling child predators, only handling the most egregious of actors after massive consumer backlash<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olivia |first=Carville |last2=D’Anastasio |first2=Cecilia |date=Jul 22, 2024 |title=Roblox’s Pedophile Problem |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-roblox-pedophile-problem/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Bloomberg}}</ref> or lawsuits,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tanenbaum |first=Michael |date=Feb 25, 2025 |title=Family from N.J. sues Roblox and Discord, claiming platforms are 'hunting ground' for child predators |url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/new-jersey-familys-suit-alleges-roblox-discord-are-hunting-ground-child-predators/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Philly Voice}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Aug 8, 2025 |title=‘Breeding ground for predators’: Roblox sued by DeKalb 10-year-old’s family |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/breeding-ground-predators-roblox-sued-150622871.html |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=WSBTV 2 Atlanta}}</ref> and in many cases, these individuals tend to have their bans reversed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox Is Threatening to Sue Me For Protecting Kids |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqAw_NjHK8&t |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> Additionally, the platform has been documented to host various mature experiences,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Jan 9, 2024 |title=this simulator should NOT be on roblox... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdacOJxmjU |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Apr 14, 2024 |title=Roblox Needs to BAN These Games... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3FeYfJOhw |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> which have been recorded to be used as breeding grounds for predatory behavior.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Feb 7, 2024 |title=I Caught a Roblox PREDATOR in this game... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMSc-9jGMQ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> This neglect has gone so far as to the platform threatening litigation against individuals attempting to get child predators reported to authorities.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Marcus |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox YouTuber Battles Child Predators {{!}} Accounts Terminated Amid Backlash |url=https://leveluptalk.com/news/roblox-youtuber-fights-child-predators-banned/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Level Up Talk}}</ref>

According to Ruben Sim, the Roblox report system (which allows users to 'report' rule-violating behavior to Roblox moderators) often had a success rate of 0%, even when obviously rule-violating accounts possessing usernames which were distorted versions of minor-sexualizing phrases such as "14 year old slut".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Dec 22 2023 |title=Do Roblox Reports Really Work? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-s0sLZ4oJA&ab_channel=RubenSim |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Youtube |type=Video}}</ref>

====Condo Games====
"Condo" games on Roblox are a type of game which simulates sex between Roblox avatars. According to the policies on Romantic and Sexual Content, "Any content which explicitly [depicts] sexual content or nudity is against the rules of Roblox".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restricted Content Policy |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/15869919570708-Restricted-Content-Policy |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Romantic and Sexual Content}}</ref> Due to the rule-violating nature of these games and how they can harm the fanbase of Roblox, due to the fanbase of Roblox being overwhelmingly composed of young children''[citation needed]'', they are often removed by Roblox moderation.

However, due to the potentially backup-creating nature of Roblox Studio, creators of these Condo games can endlessly republish these offending games under alternate accounts as long as they keep the backup file. While Roblox is considering the creation of "Restricted" experiences which may allow these heavier sexual themes''[citation needed]'', Condo games almost never mark themselves as restricted, allowing underage users to potentially access them.

===Predator-hunting groups===
In 9th August, 2025, Roblox issued a Cease and Desist to Roblox predator hunting channel RealSchlep<ref>{{Cite web |first=RealSchlep |date=9 Aug 2025 |title=Schlep on X posting about his Cease and Desist |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954255952997478537 |url-status=live |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=X}}</ref>. "Schlep used the method of acting like an underage person (decoy) to catch bad actors on Roblox. Using this method he got 6 arrests according to his team{{Citation needed}} using Roblox until they issued a Cease and Desist. Roblox added a rule to their Terms of Use<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Matt |date=13 Aug 2025 |title=Roblox on vigilante groups |url=https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/08/more-on-removal-of-vigilantes-from-roblox |url-status=live |access-date=Aug 14 2025 |website=Roblox}}</ref>. Roblox is reassuring their playerbase that the groups do not use the proper channels that Roblox provides to report potential criminals. This sparked even more backlash for the already problematic moderation system, Leaving players and parents in doubt if Roblox is even a safe environment for children.

==References==
<references />
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Roblox

2025-08-19T07:37:56Z

RuefulSeraph: Grammar fixes. Added ONLY SOME places where citations are needed because sleepy. Changed placements of punctuation in reference to the location of citations according to the style guide. Roblox is not a game; it is a service that provides experiences...some of which are considered games.

{{Incomplete}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Roblox
| Type = Company
| Founded = 2004
| Industry = Gaming
| Official Website = https://roblox.com/
| Logo = Roblox.svg
}}

[[wikipedia:Roblox|'''Roblox''']] is an online platform which lets users create their own games, as well as all sorts of virtual items for their personal avatars. The platform is owned by the Roblox Corporation.

Users create games through Roblox Studio, an application separate from the Roblox Player{{Citation needed}} Roblox Studio can be used by a user to create digital backups of the games they create. These backups are stored on their hard drive and can not be meaningfully altered by the Roblox Corporation.{{Citation needed}}

==Consumer impact summary==
{{Incomplete section}}

*User freedom: Documented in section 11 of the Roblox Terms of Use,<ref>https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004647846-Roblox-Terms-of-Use#dispute-resolution-user-roblox</ref> the user agrees to resolve disputes through Mandatory Informal Dispute Resolution (MIDR).<ref>https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004647846-Roblox-Terms-of-Use#dispute-resolution-user-roblox</ref> If MIDR does not resolve a dispute, users within the United States are forced to proceed under [[Forced arbitration|binding arbitration]].{{Citation needed}} In order to initiate MIDR, users are required to send a physically-written notice by certified mail or through Federal Express.{{Citation needed}}
*User privacy: All operations related to Roblox must, to some extent, occur on servers that Roblox owns. For example, it is nearly impossible to play a Roblox game without interacting with the Roblox servers. Roblox servers are not end to end encrypted,{{Citation needed}} allowing possible vulnerabilities.{{Citation needed}} Roblox explicitly states that they monitor all user activity to see if it complies with their rules.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restricted Content Policy |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004630823-Roblox-Privacy-and-Cookie-Policy#posting-content |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Posting content}}</ref>
*Business model: Roblox profits off of an exclusive currency purchased with real-world currency called ''Robux'', and it is often used an an intermediary for microtransactions on the platform for user-generated content (UGC) such as cosmetics.{{Citation needed}} Roblox is known to also make money off of collaborations that function as advertisements, such as with IKEA.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 3, 2024 |title=IKEA is opening a new store on Roblox… and you could be paid to work there! |url=https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/newsroom/corporate-news/ikea-is-opening-a-new-store-on-roblox-pub8a9272d0/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Ikea}}</ref>
*Market competition: Various platforms such as [[Epic Games]]' [[Fortnite]] have been known to emulate how Roblox works.{{Citation needed}} Very few however, are successful in competing against them.
*Other information: The Roblox Corporation can terminate (delete) a user's account as long as they believe they are violating the Terms of Use.<ref name = ":1">{{Cite web |date=Last updated 25 Jul 2025 |title=Roblox Terms of Use |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004647846-Roblox-Terms-of-Use |url-status=live |access-date=Aug 12 2025 |website=Roblox |page=Section 2}}</ref> Termination can not be revoked.<ref name=":1" /> A terminated user will lose all content they own on Roblox along with their account, including what they purchased with Robux.<ref name=":1" />

==Monetization==
Roblox is a free{{Citation needed}} service which features in-game purchases made with Robux, e.g. new accessories, exclusive content in certain games, and the ability to access certain games.{{Citation needed}} All items purchased on Roblox are stored on Roblox servers alone,{{Citation needed}} so Roblox has the ability to modify or delete the items you own.{{Citation needed}}

On September 9, 2021, Roblox launched an automated process for users to receive Robux back for items they had bought which had been deleted or otherwise moderated <ref>https://www.roblox.com/modcreditagreement/974158ba-99f0-4915-8fde-5b07b3cbbe09</ref> . Until then, there was no refund method in place.{{Citation needed}}

==Incidents==

===Accusations of child labor===

In January 2022, ''The Guardian'' published a story accusing Roblox of profiting off child labor with detailed stories of teenagers being scammed and becoming victims of sexual grooming in communities conveniently off the platform.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/jan/09/the-trouble-with-roblox-the-video-game-empire-built-on-child-labour</ref> In October 2022, the first of many lawsuits alleging Roblox enabled a girl's sexual exploitation was filed.<ref>https://www.reuters.com/legal/game-company-roblox-enabled-girls-sexual-exploitation-lawsuit-claims-2022-10-05/</ref>

===Blocking Linux users===
In April 2023, Roblox intentionally blocked Linux users playing the game via Wine, a tool used for running Windows apps on POSIX-compliant operating systems, they cite "security and compatibility concerns."<ref>{{Cite web |title= Devforum Post by MrEaker of Roblox |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-new-roblox-64-bit-byfron-client-forbids-wine-users-from-using-it-most-likely-unintentional/2305528/2}}</ref> This announcement followed Roblox's acquisition of Byfron, as well as their developments towards a 64-bit Roblox client.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devforum Post by Roblox Announcing Byfron Acquisition|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/welcoming-byfron-to-roblox/2018233}}</ref> Despite this change to the client, users were still able to access Roblox Studio, the development application, utilizing Wine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devforum Post by Bitdancer regarding Studio|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-new-roblox-64-bit-byfron-client-forbids-wine-users-from-using-it-most-likely-unintentional/2305528/34}}</ref> In August 2023, an update to Roblox once again allowed users to run Roblox via Wine, and many users opted to use a fork of Wine titled Vinegar made specifically for Roblox.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Devforum Post Discussing Roblox on Linux |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/vinegar-the-better-way-to-run-roblox-on-linux/2224394/24}}</ref> In February of 2024, Roblox would go back on their decision and ban the use of Wine for the Roblox Client, citing extended use of Wine-based exploits, Roblox Studio remains available under wine.<ref>{{Cite web |title= VinegarHQ 2024 Roblox on Linux Block FAQ |url=https://vinegarhq.org/Home/rol_faq.html}}</ref> In August 2024, the Vinegar team would release Sober, a closed-source application utilizing a translation layer to access the Roblox client via a mobile Android package kit (APK).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sober - Roblox on Linux |url=https://sober.vinegarhq.org/ |access-date=12 Aug 2025}}</ref> In April 2025, Roblox engineer Bitdancer would state on the Roblox Devforums that they see no reason to block Sober, but that they may disable it as a side effect of changes in security. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Devforum Post by Bitdancer regarding Sober|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/roblox-security-changes-break-nvidia-ansel-vulkan-layer-support/3601172/40}}</ref>

===Problematic moderation===
{{Main|Roblox's problematic moderation}}
Roblox as a platform has been known by consumers to moderate content in ways that are inconsistent. The platform's chat moderation feature censors inoffensive speech,<ref>{{Cite web |last=u/Gregheffley95 |date=Feb 26, 2021 |title=Roblox censors almost everything |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619214011/https://old.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |archive-date=Jun 19, 2023 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref> including numbers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Mar 7, 2017 |title=Why the hell are numbers censored! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/5y0w3z/why_the_hell_are_numbers_censored/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/Roblox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JParty |date=Feb 24, 2017 |title=Updates to Chat Privacy API + New Account Indicators + Changes to Text Filtering APIs |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/updates-to-chat-privacy-api-new-account-indicators-changes-to-text-filtering-apis/33867 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Dev Forum}}</ref>

In recent years, moderation has been documented to neglect handling child predators, only handling the most egregious of actors after massive consumer backlash<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olivia |first=Carville |last2=D’Anastasio |first2=Cecilia |date=Jul 22, 2024 |title=Roblox’s Pedophile Problem |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-roblox-pedophile-problem/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Bloomberg}}</ref> or lawsuits,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tanenbaum |first=Michael |date=Feb 25, 2025 |title=Family from N.J. sues Roblox and Discord, claiming platforms are 'hunting ground' for child predators |url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/new-jersey-familys-suit-alleges-roblox-discord-are-hunting-ground-child-predators/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Philly Voice}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Aug 8, 2025 |title=‘Breeding ground for predators’: Roblox sued by DeKalb 10-year-old’s family |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/breeding-ground-predators-roblox-sued-150622871.html |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=WSBTV 2 Atlanta}}</ref> and in many cases, these individuals tend to have their bans reversed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox Is Threatening to Sue Me For Protecting Kids |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqAw_NjHK8&t |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> Additionally, the platform has been documented to host various mature experiences,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Jan 9, 2024 |title=this simulator should NOT be on roblox... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdacOJxmjU |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Apr 14, 2024 |title=Roblox Needs to BAN These Games... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3FeYfJOhw |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> which have been recorded to be used as breeding grounds for predatory behavior.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Feb 7, 2024 |title=I Caught a Roblox PREDATOR in this game... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMSc-9jGMQ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> This neglect has gone so far as to the platform threatening litigation against individuals attempting to get child predators reported to authorities.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Marcus |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox YouTuber Battles Child Predators {{!}} Accounts Terminated Amid Backlash |url=https://leveluptalk.com/news/roblox-youtuber-fights-child-predators-banned/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Level Up Talk}}</ref>

According to Ruben Sim, the Roblox report system (which allows users to 'report' rule-violating behavior to Roblox moderators) often had a success rate of 0%, even when obviously rule-violating accounts possessing usernames which were distorted versions of minor-sexualizing phrases such as "14 year old slut".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Dec 22 2023 |title=Do Roblox Reports Really Work? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-s0sLZ4oJA&ab_channel=RubenSim |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Youtube |type=Video}}</ref>

====Condo Games====
"Condo" games on Roblox are a type of game which simulates sex between Roblox avatars. According to the policies on Romantic and Sexual Content, "Any content which explicitly [depicts] sexual content or nudity is against the rules of Roblox".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restricted Content Policy |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/15869919570708-Restricted-Content-Policy |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Romantic and Sexual Content}}</ref> Due to the rule-violating nature of these games and how they can harm the fanbase of Roblox, due to the fanbase of Roblox being overwhelmingly composed of young children''[citation needed]'', they are often removed by Roblox moderation.

However, due to the potentially backup-creating nature of Roblox Studio, creators of these Condo games can endlessly republish these offending games under alternate accounts as long as they keep the backup file. While Roblox is considering the creation of "Restricted" experiences which may allow these heavier sexual themes''[citation needed]'', Condo games almost never mark themselves as restricted, allowing underage users to potentially access them.

===Predator-hunting groups===
In 9th August, 2025, Roblox issued a Cease and Desist to Roblox predator hunting channel RealSchlep<ref>{{Cite web |first=RealSchlep |date=9 Aug 2025 |title=Schlep on X posting about his Cease and Desist |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954255952997478537 |url-status=live |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=X}}</ref>. "Schlep used the method of acting like an underage person (decoy) to catch bad actors on Roblox. Using this method he got 6 arrests according to his team{{Citation needed}} using Roblox until they issued a Cease and Desist. Roblox added a rule to their Terms of Use<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Matt |date=13 Aug 2025 |title=Roblox on vigilante groups |url=https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/08/more-on-removal-of-vigilantes-from-roblox |url-status=live |access-date=Aug 14 2025 |website=Roblox}}</ref>. Roblox is reassuring their playerbase that the groups do not use the proper channels that Roblox provides to report potential criminals. This sparked even more backlash for the already problematic moderation system, Leaving players and parents in doubt if Roblox is even a safe environment for children.

==References==
<references />
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Roblox's problematic moderation

2025-08-19T06:50:23Z

RuefulSeraph: Added more "allegedly" to avoid defamation. Style guide: "When linking text in articles, only link the first instance within the article" and "Other acceptable uses for italics include:...Names of court cases"

{{Incomplete}}
Since [[Roblox]] launched in 2004, both its automated and human aspects of moderation have been problematic for its consumers. Notable issues range from Roblox's obscene chat filter that limit communication on the platform,<ref>{{Cite web |last=u/Gregheffley95 |date=Feb 26, 2021 |title=Roblox censors almost everything |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619214011/https://old.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |archive-date=Jun 19, 2023 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Mar 7, 2017 |title=Why the hell are numbers censored! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/5y0w3z/why_the_hell_are_numbers_censored/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/Roblox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JParty |date=Feb 24, 2017 |title=Updates to Chat Privacy API + New Account Indicators + Changes to Text Filtering APIs |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/updates-to-chat-privacy-api-new-account-indicators-changes-to-text-filtering-apis/33867 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Dev Forum}}</ref>, inconsistent enforcement of guidelines, and the indirect encouragement of illegal behaviors on the platform intended for young audiences.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Jan 9, 2024 |title=this simulator should NOT be on roblox... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdacOJxmjU |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Apr 14, 2024 |title=Roblox Needs to BAN These Games... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3FeYfJOhw |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

==Background==
No online platform is immune to child predators, especially those geared towards minor audiences, however, Roblox has had an extensive history regarding its poor handling of said individuals on the platform. The child predator problem has been exacerbated recently by a decision from the CEO David Baszucki to integrate dating features to the game,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baqery |first=Mohsen |date=Jul 30, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO Has Suggested the Worst Idea Possible |url=https://gamerant.com/roblox-ceo-worst-idea-dating-sim/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=GameRant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Norton |first=Brad |date=Jul 15, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO wants adults to use platform as a dating service |url=https://www.dexerto.com/roblox/roblox-ceo-wants-adults-to-use-platform-as-a-dating-service-3226769/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Dexerto}}</ref> despite at minimum 40% of the game's population being under 13 years old,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Connor |first=Jak |date=Jul 29, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO wants to add an in-game dating feature, despite 40% of players being under 13yrs old |url=https://www.tweaktown.com/news/106712/roblox-ceo-wants-to-add-an-in-game-dating-feature-despite-40-of-players-being-under-13yrs-old/index.html |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=TweakTown}}</ref> and a further 16% users are between 13 and 16 years old.<ref name=":32">{{Cite news |last=Tan |first=Nicholas |date=Nov 10, 2022 |title=Roblox Dev Arrested for Kidnapping: Who is Arnold Castillo (aka Jadon Shedletsky)? |url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/913144-roblox-dev-arrested-developer-who-is-arnold-castillo-jadon-shedletsky |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=Game Revolution}}</ref>

==Problematic moderation==
Beyond a questionable chat filtering system, Roblox has historically underinvested in adequate moderation for its user base. The moderation team is excessively small compared to its competitors, a documented 100-200 moderation on-staff compared to [[Fortnite]]'s 1,000+ and [[Minecraft]]'s 500+ members on the moderation staff.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Sep 17, 2024 |title=Why is Roblox moderation so bad? |url=https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/why-is-roblox-moderation-so-bad/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Games Learning Society}}</ref> Combined with a lack of investment in adequate moderation tools,<ref>{{Cite news |date=Jul 24, 2024 |title=All Roblox Controversies Explained (2024) |url=https://screenrant.com/roblox-controversies-moderation-bad/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=ScreenRant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Apr 9, 2024 |title=Roblox VC moderation is terrible |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/comments/1c05qqs/roblox_vc_moderation_is_terrible/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/ROBLOXBans}}</ref> it has become responsible for an excess of younger audiences being harmed on the platform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dinunzio |first=Caitlin |date=Dec 21, 2021 |title=Roblox Accused Of Being Unsafe For Children In Viral Video |url=https://screenrant.com/roblox-accusations-safety-children-people-make-games/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=ScreenRant}}</ref>

Reported by Hindenburg Research, the platform outsources its moderation to call centers within Asia, many of which are paid poorly and often lack the literacy to adequately handle cases,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=Oct 8, 2024 |title=Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids |url=https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=Hindenburg Research}}</ref> and their systems required multiple offenses to even incite a temporary ban. The former moderator they interviewed cited their poor resources as a key issue as to why he would refuse to let any kids he knew to play the game.

When the platform was investigated by journalists working to uncover how the platform was additionally encouraging the exploitation of underage developers,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Quintin |date=Aug 19, 2021 |title=Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - People Make Games}}</ref> the company aimed to have the report taken down, thus leading to further research from reporters on ''People Make Games'' regarding further harmful moderation controversies.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Quintin |date=Dec 13, 2021 |title=Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMF6xEiAaY&t=10s |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - People Make Games}}</ref> In the follow-up video, the lead developer of a fan game ''Sonic Eclipse Online'' on the platform by the alias of Doc spread harmful and sexually-charged comments to female developers on his team, and while his primary account was removed from the platform, Roblox's moderation team has refused to handle the alternate account which owns all the games he published to the platform, nor the games held by this alternate account either, meaning he continued to gain revenue from his project while clearly evading his ban.<ref name=":22" /> Soon after the publication of the video, his game would then be taken down via [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act|DMCA]] from [[SEGA]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=Feb 5, 2022 |title=Sega took down Sonic Eclipse Online |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3rmxony0mQ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - BloxEverlasting}}</ref> It was not until mid-2022 that Doc would receive federal charges for abducting a minor through his predatory behavior on the platform,<ref name=":32" /> and finally be entirely removed from said platform.

===Roblox's response===
So far, Roblox has done the following regarding its child predator problem:

* Threatened the content creator Schlep with litigation over vigilantism,<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox Is Threatening to Sue Me For Protecting Kids |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqAw_NjHK8&t |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Marcus |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox YouTuber Battles Child Predators {{!}} Accounts Terminated Amid Backlash |url=https://leveluptalk.com/news/roblox-youtuber-fights-child-predators-banned/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Level Up Talk}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Matt |date=Aug 7, 2025 |title=How Roblox Partners With Law Enforcement |url=https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/08/how-roblox-partners-law-enforcement |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Blog}}</ref> despite cited neglect from the moderation by the user.<ref name=":02" />
* The integration of an open-source AI-powered system (Sentinel) to spy on chats.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ortutay |first=Barbara |date=Aug 7, 2025 |title=Roblox rolls out open-source AI system to protect kids from predators in chats |url=https://apnews.com/article/roblox-grooming-messages-ai-kids-teens-9e9d4131d46b80eead3e57b1110d48eb |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Associated Press}}</ref>
* Collaborating with law enforcement according to a blog post.<ref name=":12" />

=== Intentionally covering up the problem ===
In a report from Hindenburg Research,<ref name=":32" /> they interviewed a former Senior Product Designer for the platform which directly stated:<blockquote>“You’re supposed to make sure that your users are safe and but then the downside is that, if you’re limiting users’ engagement, it’s hurting your metrics. It’s hurting the [daily] active users, the time spent on the platform, and in a lot of cases, the leadership doesn’t want that.”

“You have to make a make a decision, right? You can keep your players safe, but then it would be less of them on the platform. Or you just let them do what they want to do. And then the numbers all look good and investors will be happy.”

“You maybe see it in the numbers going down or the profits going down. Then whether you like it or not, you kind of just have to reconsider your option[s], because once you’re a public company, you’re answering to all the investors.”</blockquote>This statement in summary represented how the platform intentionally refused to integrate features to protect underage users on the platform, exclusively for the purposes of inflating the game's population to appease the platform's shareholders.

=== "Condo" games ===
The platform additionally hosts thousands of "condo" games,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dorn |first=James |date=Jul 24, 2025 |title=What is a Condo Game on Roblox? |url=https://expertbeacon.com/what-is-a-condo-on-roblox/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Expert Beacon}}</ref> to allow platform users to simulate sexual activities. Despite these games being directly in violation of Roblox's policies:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restricted Content Policy |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/15869919570708-Restricted-Content-Policy |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Romantic and Sexual Content}}</ref><blockquote>"Any content which explicitly [depicts] sexual content or nudity is against the rules of Roblox"</blockquote>The platform has been slow to handle these games being frequently uploaded, especially since these games are frequently reuploaded on alternate accounts en-masse.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McGuinness |first=Devan |date=Feb 16, 2022 |title=Roblox “Condo” Strip Clubs Still Populating Platform — What to Know |url=https://www.fatherly.com/news/roblox-strip-clubs-problem-safety |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Fatherly}}</ref> Additionally, the platform has notoriously collaborated with TheOfficialTeddy, known for publishing "condo" games to the platform, even including one of his notorious titles within 2025's The Hatch event, despite his long history of frequent bans from the platform.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Ricablanca |first=Celsos |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Why did Roblox ban TheOfficialTeddy? Here’s what we know |url=https://esports.gg/news/roblox/why-did-roblox-ban-theofficialteddy-heres-what-we-know/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=eSports.gg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 17, 2025 |title=Tweet from RoCatchers |url=https://xcancel.com/RoCatchers/status/1934826134476087759 |url-status=live |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=x (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref> The platform reversed Teddy's addition within the event and re-banned the individual only after significant backlash from players and content creators participating in the event.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 30, 2025 |title=Tweet from Roblox |url=https://x.com/Roblox/status/1939844614997033165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1939844614997033165%7Ctwgr%5E78a1e8a53dd64d2c86722a959bc5c71bd6b0f0c5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fesports.gg%2Fnews%2Froblox%2Fwhy-did-roblox-ban-theofficialteddy-heres-what-we-know%2F |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=x (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cripe |first=Michael |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Roblox #BoycottTheHatch Controversy Explained |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/roblox-boycottthehatch-controversy-explained |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=[[IGN]]}}</ref>
[[File:AdultRobloxGame.png|alt=A picture of a roblox game, with the name "Escape to Epstein Island"|thumb|An example of one of the mature games on Roblox that can be played by underage accounts.]]
A sibling to the "condo" genre have been titles named after individuals known for sex trafficking, such as Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, these games were able to be easily accessed by underage users.<ref name=":5" />

Even games which may not be initially intended for mature audiences have been at risk from mature-aged users posting inappropriate content, such as "School Simulator", which failed to censor genitalia, obscene speech, and more,<ref name=":5" /> despite Roblox's claims that it reviews every piece of content uploaded to the platform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clayton |first=James |last2=Dyer |first2=Jasmin |date=Feb 15, 2022 |title=Roblox: The children's game with a sex problem |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60314572 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

==== CSAM communities ====
Some Roblox experiences have large communities that trade in child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and allow underage players to access them.<ref name=":5" /> Hindenburg reported that there are at least 38 of these groups which solicit CSAM as of 2024.<ref name=":5" /> One such group evaded moderation for at least 15 years by disguising itself as “''[ Content Deleted 19208 ]''”, with ID info stating that it formed in 2009.<ref name=":5" /> Moderation For Dummies reported the existence of at least 12,400 accounts which dabble in various levels of CSAM on the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Sep 2, 2024 |title=Tweet from Mod For Dummies |url=https://xcancel.com/ModForDummies/status/1830646065948958861 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=X (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref>

==Lawsuits and legal controversies==
{{Incomplete section}}
Litigation has been frequent for the platform regarding its neglect to handle child predators for several years now. The following is a brief list from over 300 unique legal incidents<ref>{{Cite news |last=Musumeci |first=Natalie |date=Aug 13, 2025 |title=Roblox accused of being a 'hunting ground' for child predators as legal firestorm against gaming giant intensifies |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-online-gaming-giant-child-predator-allegations-lawsuits-2025-8?op=1 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Business Insider}}</ref> regarding Roblox's moderation.


===Arnold Castillo (February to July 2022)===
In February 2022, the lead game developer for the game ''Sonic Eclipse Online'' on Roblox, Arnold Castillo, allegedly used the platform to groom an anonymous minor. Months later in May, he allegedly coerced the minor into crossing state lines to his property via the service [[Uber]].<ref name=":32" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jul 29, 2022 |title=New Jersey Man Federally Charged with Enticement of a Minor and Interstate Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/pr/new-jersey-man-federally-charged-enticement-minor-and-interstate-transportation-minor |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=DOJ - Southern District of Indiana Attorney's Office}}</ref> Days after the abduction, the individual was detained and put on trial, and received 2 life sentences and $500k in fines. This occurred after Castillo's extensive history of violating the platform's Terms of Service for the purposes of grooming minors. Both his community and staff released 2 documents<ref>{{Cite web |title=The DoctorRofatnik Archives |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IBLEag66elaVPs11PimO2t2M0ikCCb67ti_RNYB0MxQ/edit?tab=t.0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/the-doctor-rofatnik-archives/mode/2up |archive-date=2020-10-26 |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Google Docs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Response to your claims |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6NozfqgKOLT1882d9xy1QuJzW0TWJXuorvincSI4z8/edit?tab=t.0 |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Google Docs}}</ref> covering his harmful behavior on both Roblox and additionally [[Discord]].<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Oct 31, 2022 |title=The Roblox Developer Arrested By The FBI |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDfdlLuAgA |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - Ruben Sim}}</ref> Roblox's moderation refused to directly handle the situation, despite the extensive reports, and his arrest compiled with the charges he faced were only successful due to datamining efforts via vigilantes on the platform.<ref name=":42" />

===''State v. Darius Matylewich (September 2023)''===
In 2023, Darius Matylewich allegedly used a combination of Roblox and other social media services to abduct an 11-year-old girl to his property across state lines.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 7, 2025 |title=Bear Man Gets 20 Years In 11-Year-Old’s Abduction |url=https://firststateupdate.com/2025/07/bear-man-gets-20-years-in-11-year-olds-abduction/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=1st State Update}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Slocum |first=Jack |date=Jul 8, 2025 |title=Delaware Man Gets Prison Time For Coercing, Kidnapping Wayne 11-Year-Old |url=https://patch.com/new-jersey/wayne/delaware-man-gets-prison-time-coercing-kidnapping-wayne-11-year-old |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Patch}}</ref> 2 years later, on July 2, 2025, Matylewich was charged with 20 years of incarceration for the coercion and enticement of a minor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Jul 7, 2025 |title=Delaware Man Sentenced To 240 Months For Coercing 11-Year-Old New Jersey Resident To Travel To Delaware For Sexual Activity |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-de/pr/delaware-man-sentenced-240-months-coercing-11-year-old-new-jersey-resident-travel |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |website=U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Delaware}}</ref> During the entire incident, Roblox did not halt Matylewich's activities on the platform.

===''State v. Franciou Romelus (April 2024)''===
Francious Romelus allegedly stalked a 14-year-old girl via Roblox in 2023 and attempted to abduct her on April 12, 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arradondo |first=Briona |date=Apr 24, 2024 |title=Man arrested for stalking, attacking 14-year-old girl he met online: TPD |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/man-arrested-for-stalking-attacking-14-year-old-girl-he-met-online-tpd |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Fox 13 News}}</ref> Romelus was charged with aggravated stalking, transmission of harmful material to a minor, among other charges, and received a 30-year sentence. Roblox moderation again did not prevent, halt, or report the individual to authorities at that time.

===''U.S. v. Daniel Aravena Oliva'' (August 2024)===
In 2024, Daniel Aravena Oliva allegedly groomed a 13-year-old girl on the platform across international borders for several months. After flying to the US from Chile, the individual was arrested before he could sexually assault the minor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Aug 23, 2024 |title=Chilean man arrested in connection with exploitation of 14-year-old girl, Glendora police say |url=https://abc7.com/post/chilean-man-arrested-connection-exploitation-14-year-old-girl-glendora-police-say/15222531/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=ABC 7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Toohey |first=Grace |date=Aug 22, 2024 |title=Chilean man groomed 13-year-old girl he met on Roblox before flying to U.S. to meet her, police say |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-22/chilean-arrest-roblox-child-exploitation |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

===''State v. Christian Scribben'' (February to April 2025)===
Christian Scribben allegedly, on multiple accounts, used Roblox to coerce minors to produce CSAM. Scribben was arrested in April and tried as an adult.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 2, 2025 |title=Ocala teen jailed for exploiting children he met on video game |url=https://www.ocala-news.com/2025/05/02/ocala-teen-jailed-for-exploiting-children-he-met-on-video-game/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Ocala News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hogan |first=Brandon |date=Apr 30, 2025 |title=17-year-old arrested in Marion County, accused of sexually exploiting children on Roblox |url=https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2025/04/30/17-year-old-arrested-in-marion-county-accused-of-sexually-exploiting-children-on-roblox/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Click Orlando}}</ref> On the day of Scribben's arrest, the Florida AG James Uthmeier subpoenaed Roblox regarding its marketing material, citing an excess of reports of children being exposed to “graphic or harmful material” while using the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uthmeier |first=James |date=Apr 16, 2025 |title=Attorney General James Uthmeier Fights to Protect Children Online; Subpoenas Roblox for Child-Protection Policies and Procedures |url=https://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrelease/attorney-general-james-uthmeier-fights-protect-children-online-subpoenas-roblox-child |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |website=Florida Office of Attorney General}}</ref>

===''State v. Matthew Naval'' (April to June 2025)===

Matthew Macatuno Naval allegedly abducted a 10-year-old girl soon after meeting her on Roblox,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Girl was kidnapped by man who messaged her on Roblox, officials say. 10-year-old found safe |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-16/girl-10-allegedly-kidnapped-by-man-who-messaged-on-roblox |website=Los Angeles Times |date=2025-04-16 |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |first=Kaitlyn |last=Huamani |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819041136/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-16/girl-10-allegedly-kidnapped-by-man-who-messaged-on-roblox |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref><ref name=":46">{{Cite web |title=California man accused of kidnapping 10-year-old he met on Roblox |url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/california-man-accused-of-kidnapping-10-year-old-he-met-on-roblox/3807102/ |website=NBC San Diego |date=2025-04-17 |first=Viola |last=Flowers |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819041723/https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/california-man-accused-of-kidnapping-10-year-old-he-met-on-roblox/3807102/ |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref><ref name=":47">{{Cite web |title=Elk Grove man accused of kidnapping missing child after meeting her on Roblox |url=https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/missing-kern-county-child-found-elk-grove-suspected-kidnapper/103-53c26187-7d46-4b43-964a-1010c1bf07c5 |website=ABC 10 |date=2025-04-14 |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819043626/https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/missing-kern-county-child-found-elk-grove-suspected-kidnapper/103-53c26187-7d46-4b43-964a-1010c1bf07c5 |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref> and he was charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of kidnapping a child under 14 to commit sex acts, two counts of committing sex acts with a child under 14, one count of showing sexual content to a minor, and two counts related to contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex act.<ref name=":48">{{Cite web |title=Man accused of kidnapping Taft girl held on $1.35M bail |url=https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/man-accused-of-kidnapping-taft-girl-charged-with-7-felonies/ |website=KGET.com |date=2025-04-18 |first1=Jason |last2=Kotowski |first2=Jenny |last2=Huh |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819043054/https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/man-accused-of-kidnapping-taft-girl-charged-with-7-felonies/ |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref> According to police, the survivor was found in a car at an Elk Grove strip mall over 250 miles from her home in Taft, and police returned her to her family.<ref name=":46" /><ref name=":47" /> Representing the severity of the charges against Naval, his bail was listed at about US$1.35 million.<ref name =":48" />


===''Doe et al v. Roblox Corporation et al'' (July 2025)===
The suit Doe et al v. Roblox Corporation et al, filed on July 9, 2025, is an ongoing product liability suit where the plaintiffs are two anonymous individuals and the defendants are Roblox Corporation and [[Discord|Discord, Inc.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doe et al v. Roblox Corporation et al |url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/58931825/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al |website=PacerMonitor |date=2025-07-09 |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819035355/https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/58931825/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref> The main complaints in the original file were:
<blockquote>
(1) Fraudulent Concealment and Misrepresentations 
(2) Negligent Misrepresentation 
(3) Negligence — General 
(4) Negligence — Failure to Warn 
(5) Negligence — Unreasonable Design 
(6) Negligent Undertaking 
(7) Strict Liability — Design Defect 
(8) Strict Liability — Failure to Warn<ref>{{Cite web |title=Case 3:25-cv-05753-LB |url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/filings/DWCGRGFI/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al__candce-25-05753__0001.0.pdf |website=Pacermonitor |date=2025-07-09 |first=Paige |last=Boldt |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819035429/https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/filings/DWCGRGFI/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al__candce-25-05753__0001.0.pdf |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref>
</blockquote>


===Florida Attorney-General Subpoena & Multi-State Scrutiny (July 2025)===

==Consumer response==
Users such as Schlep turn to vigilantism due to the negligence of the platform's own moderation teams.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Feb 7, 2024 |title=I Caught a Roblox PREDATOR in this game... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMSc-9jGMQ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> In response to Roblox's submission of a cease and desist notice to Schlep,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=Schlep on X: "Every account I've ever made on Roblox has been terminated... |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954101415564951680 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref name=":02" /> the platform was condemned by the community and California 17th Congressional District Representative Ro Khanna,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horetski |first=Dylan |date=Aug 13, 2025 |title=Congressman steps in after Roblox threatens to sue & bans “predator hunter” YouTuber Schlep |url=https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/congressman-steps-in-after-roblox-threatens-to-sue-bans-predator-hunter-youtuber-schlep-3237759/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Dexerto}}</ref> and consumers promoted a hashtag #FreeSchlep in an attempt to get Schlep's account reinstated.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-11 |title=Schlep on X: "wow its trending again. 3 days in a row now I was lowkey ... |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954982451350008298 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref> The movement also received support from popular Roblox YouTuber KreekCraft.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=KreekCraft on X: "Roblox Schlep situation" / X |url=https://x.com/KreekCraft/status/1954215182311297365 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-10 |title=Roblox Banned Schlep - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKOYXcYmxow |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=YouTube}}</ref> Furthermore, Roblox outlawed vigilante groups on their platform,<ref name=":12" /> causing vigilante group RoCatchers, a predator-catching group, to disband.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=RoCatchers on X: "We sadly have to disband what we're doing on here. ... |url=https://x.com/RoCatchers/status/1954221211581301201 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref>

The platform's poor moderation choices also led to the formation of the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/ r/ROBLOXbans], which has extensive posts covering the platform both ignoring mature content and excessively punishing users over minor or absurd infractions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=r/ROBLOXBans |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/wiki/index/ |website=[[Reddit]] |access-date=2025-08-18 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424112358/https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/wiki/index/ |archive-date=2025-04-24}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{Incomplete section}}

The negligence shown by Roblox and the platform's moderation has been a key point within various forms of legislation to require identification-based verification on online services, e.g. the [[Online Safety Act|Online Safety Act of 2023]] within the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Safety Act 2023 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/contents/enacted |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250818200028/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/contents |archive-date=2025-08-18}}</ref>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Roblox]]

Roblox's problematic moderation

2025-08-19T04:43:43Z

RuefulSeraph: Fixed some grammar issues and added a bit of context and elaboration to several sections. Added the term ALLEGED/ALLEGEDLY for active criminal cases so we don't get sued.

{{Incomplete}}
Since [[Roblox]] launched in 2004, both its automated and human aspects of moderation have been problematic for its consumers. Notable issues range from Roblox's obscene chat filter that limit communication on the platform,<ref>{{Cite web |last=u/Gregheffley95 |date=Feb 26, 2021 |title=Roblox censors almost everything |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619214011/https://old.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |archive-date=Jun 19, 2023 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Mar 7, 2017 |title=Why the hell are numbers censored! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/5y0w3z/why_the_hell_are_numbers_censored/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/Roblox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JParty |date=Feb 24, 2017 |title=Updates to Chat Privacy API + New Account Indicators + Changes to Text Filtering APIs |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/updates-to-chat-privacy-api-new-account-indicators-changes-to-text-filtering-apis/33867 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Dev Forum}}</ref>, inconsistent enforcement of guidelines, and the indirect encouragement of illegal behaviors on the platform intended for young audiences.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Jan 9, 2024 |title=this simulator should NOT be on roblox... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdacOJxmjU |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Apr 14, 2024 |title=Roblox Needs to BAN These Games... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3FeYfJOhw |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

==Background==
No online platform is immune to child predators, especially those geared towards minor audiences, however, [[Roblox]] has had an extensive history regarding its poor handling of said individuals on the platform. The child predator problem has been exacerbated recently by a decision from the CEO David Baszucki to integrate dating features to the game,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baqery |first=Mohsen |date=Jul 30, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO Has Suggested the Worst Idea Possible |url=https://gamerant.com/roblox-ceo-worst-idea-dating-sim/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=GameRant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Norton |first=Brad |date=Jul 15, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO wants adults to use platform as a dating service |url=https://www.dexerto.com/roblox/roblox-ceo-wants-adults-to-use-platform-as-a-dating-service-3226769/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Dexerto}}</ref> despite at minimum 40% of the game's population being under 13 years old,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Connor |first=Jak |date=Jul 29, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO wants to add an in-game dating feature, despite 40% of players being under 13yrs old |url=https://www.tweaktown.com/news/106712/roblox-ceo-wants-to-add-an-in-game-dating-feature-despite-40-of-players-being-under-13yrs-old/index.html |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=TweakTown}}</ref> and a further 16% users are between 13 and 16 years old.<ref name=":32">{{Cite news |last=Tan |first=Nicholas |date=Nov 10, 2022 |title=Roblox Dev Arrested for Kidnapping: Who is Arnold Castillo (aka Jadon Shedletsky)? |url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/913144-roblox-dev-arrested-developer-who-is-arnold-castillo-jadon-shedletsky |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=Game Revolution}}</ref>

==Problematic moderation==
Beyond a questionable chat filtering system, [[Roblox]] has historically underinvested in adequate moderation for its userbase. The moderation team is excessively small compared to its competitors, a documented 100-200 moderation on-staff compared to [[Fortnite]]'s 1,000+ and [[Minecraft]]'s 500+ members on the moderation staff.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Sep 17, 2024 |title=Why is Roblox moderation so bad? |url=https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/why-is-roblox-moderation-so-bad/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Games Learning Society}}</ref> Combined with a lack of investment in adequate moderation tools,<ref>{{Cite news |date=Jul 24, 2024 |title=All Roblox Controversies Explained (2024) |url=https://screenrant.com/roblox-controversies-moderation-bad/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=ScreenRant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Apr 9, 2024 |title=Roblox VC moderation is terrible |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/comments/1c05qqs/roblox_vc_moderation_is_terrible/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/ROBLOXBans}}</ref> it has become responsible for an excess of younger audiences being harmed on the platform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dinunzio |first=Caitlin |date=Dec 21, 2021 |title=Roblox Accused Of Being Unsafe For Children In Viral Video |url=https://screenrant.com/roblox-accusations-safety-children-people-make-games/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=ScreenRant}}</ref>

Reported by Hindenburg Research, the platform outsources its moderation to call centers within Asia, many of which are paid poorly and often lack the literacy to adequately handle cases,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=Oct 8, 2024 |title=Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids |url=https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=Hindenburg Research}}</ref> and their systems required multiple offenses to even incite a temporary ban. The former moderator they interviewed cited their poor resources as a key issue as to why he would refuse to let any kids he knew to play the game.

When the platform was investigated by journalists working to uncover how the platform was additionally encouraging the exploitation of underage developers,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Quintin |date=Aug 19, 2021 |title=Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - People Make Games}}</ref> the company aimed to have the report taken down, thus leading to further research from reporters on ''People Make Games'' regarding further harmful moderation controversies.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Quintin |date=Dec 13, 2021 |title=Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMF6xEiAaY&t=10s |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - People Make Games}}</ref> In the follow-up video, the lead developer of a fan game ''Sonic Eclipse Online'' on the platform by the alias of Doc spread harmful and sexually-charged comments to female developers on his team, and while his primary account was removed from the platform, Roblox's moderation team has refused to handle the alternate account which owns all the games he published to the platform, nor the games held by this alternate account either, meaning he continued to gain revenue from his project while clearly evading his ban.<ref name=":22" /> Soon after the publication of the video, his game would then be taken down via [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act|DMCA]] from [[SEGA]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=Feb 5, 2022 |title=Sega took down Sonic Eclipse Online |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3rmxony0mQ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - BloxEverlasting}}</ref> It was not until mid-2022 that Doc would receive federal charges for abducting a minor through his predatory behavior on the platform,<ref name=":32" /> and finally be entirely removed from said platform.

===Roblox's response===
So far, [[Roblox]] has done the following regarding its child predator problem:

* Threatened the content creator Schlep with litigation over vigilantism,<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox Is Threatening to Sue Me For Protecting Kids |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqAw_NjHK8&t |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Marcus |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox YouTuber Battles Child Predators {{!}} Accounts Terminated Amid Backlash |url=https://leveluptalk.com/news/roblox-youtuber-fights-child-predators-banned/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Level Up Talk}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Matt |date=Aug 7, 2025 |title=How Roblox Partners With Law Enforcement |url=https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/08/how-roblox-partners-law-enforcement |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Blog}}</ref> despite cited neglect from the moderation by the user.<ref name=":02" />
* The integration of an open-source AI-powered system (Sentinel) to spy on chats.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ortutay |first=Barbara |date=Aug 7, 2025 |title=Roblox rolls out open-source AI system to protect kids from predators in chats |url=https://apnews.com/article/roblox-grooming-messages-ai-kids-teens-9e9d4131d46b80eead3e57b1110d48eb |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Associated Press}}</ref>
* Collaborating with law enforcement according to a blog post.<ref name=":12" />

=== Intentionally covering up the problem ===
In a report from Hindenburg Research,<ref name=":32" /> they interviewed a former Senior Product Designer for the platform which directly stated:<blockquote>“You’re supposed to make sure that your users are safe and but then the downside is that, if you’re limiting users’ engagement, it’s hurting your metrics. It’s hurting the [daily] active users, the time spent on the platform, and in a lot of cases, the leadership doesn’t want that.”

“You have to make a make a decision, right? You can keep your players safe, but then it would be less of them on the platform. Or you just let them do what they want to do. And then the numbers all look good and investors will be happy.”

“You maybe see it in the numbers going down or the profits going down. Then whether you like it or not, you kind of just have to reconsider your option[s], because once you’re a public company, you’re answering to all the investors.”</blockquote>This statement in summary represented how the platform intentionally refused to integrate features to protect underage users on the platform, exclusively for the purposes of inflating the game's population to appease the platform's shareholders.

=== "Condo" games ===
The platform additionally hosts thousands of "condo" games,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dorn |first=James |date=Jul 24, 2025 |title=What is a Condo Game on Roblox? |url=https://expertbeacon.com/what-is-a-condo-on-roblox/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Expert Beacon}}</ref> to allow platform users to simulate sexual activities. Despite these games being directly in violation of Roblox's policies:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restricted Content Policy |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/15869919570708-Restricted-Content-Policy |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Romantic and Sexual Content}}</ref><blockquote>"Any content which explicitly [depicts] sexual content or nudity is against the rules of Roblox"</blockquote>The platform has been slow to handle these games being frequently uploaded, especially since these games are frequently reuploaded on alternate accounts en-masse.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McGuinness |first=Devan |date=Feb 16, 2022 |title=Roblox “Condo” Strip Clubs Still Populating Platform — What to Know |url=https://www.fatherly.com/news/roblox-strip-clubs-problem-safety |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Fatherly}}</ref> Additionally, the platform has notoriously collaborated with TheOfficialTeddy, known for publishing "condo" games to the platform, even including one of his notorious titles within 2025's The Hatch event, despite his long history of frequent bans from the platform.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Ricablanca |first=Celsos |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Why did Roblox ban TheOfficialTeddy? Here’s what we know |url=https://esports.gg/news/roblox/why-did-roblox-ban-theofficialteddy-heres-what-we-know/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=eSports.gg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 17, 2025 |title=Tweet from RoCatchers |url=https://xcancel.com/RoCatchers/status/1934826134476087759 |url-status=live |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=x (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref> The platform reversed Teddy's addition within the event and re-banned the individual only after significant backlash from players and content creators participating in the event.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 30, 2025 |title=Tweet from Roblox |url=https://x.com/Roblox/status/1939844614997033165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1939844614997033165%7Ctwgr%5E78a1e8a53dd64d2c86722a959bc5c71bd6b0f0c5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fesports.gg%2Fnews%2Froblox%2Fwhy-did-roblox-ban-theofficialteddy-heres-what-we-know%2F |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=x (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cripe |first=Michael |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Roblox #BoycottTheHatch Controversy Explained |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/roblox-boycottthehatch-controversy-explained |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=[[IGN]]}}</ref>
[[File:AdultRobloxGame.png|alt=A picture of a roblox game, with the name "Escape to Epstein Island"|thumb|An example of one of the mature games on Roblox that can be played by underage accounts.]]
A sibling to the "condo" genre have been titles named after individuals known for sex trafficking, such as Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, these games were able to be easily accessed by underage users.<ref name=":5" />

Even games which may not be initially intended for mature audiences have been at risk from mature-aged users posting inappropriate content, such as "School Simulator", which failed to censor genitalia, obscene speech, and more,<ref name=":5" /> despite Roblox's claims that it reviews every piece of content uploaded to the platform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clayton |first=James |last2=Dyer |first2=Jasmin |date=Feb 15, 2022 |title=Roblox: The children's game with a sex problem |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60314572 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

==== CSAM communities ====
Some Roblox experiences have large communities that trade in child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and allow underage players to access them.<ref name=":5" /> Hindenburg reported that there are at least 38 of these groups which solicit CSAM as of 2024.<ref name=":5" /> One such group evaded moderation for at least 15 years by disguising itself as “''[ Content Deleted 19208 ]''”, with ID info stating that it formed in 2009.<ref name=":5" /> Moderation For Dummies reported the existence of at least 12,400 accounts which dabble in various levels of CSAM on the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Sep 2, 2024 |title=Tweet from Mod For Dummies |url=https://xcancel.com/ModForDummies/status/1830646065948958861 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=X (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref>

==Lawsuits and legal controversies==
{{Incomplete section}}
Litigation has been frequent for the platform regarding its neglect to handle child predators for several years now. The following is a brief list from over 300 unique legal incidents<ref>{{Cite news |last=Musumeci |first=Natalie |date=Aug 13, 2025 |title=Roblox accused of being a 'hunting ground' for child predators as legal firestorm against gaming giant intensifies |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-online-gaming-giant-child-predator-allegations-lawsuits-2025-8?op=1 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Business Insider}}</ref> regarding Roblox's moderation:

===Arnold Castillo (February to July 2022)===
In February 2022, the lead game developer for the game ''Sonic Eclipse Online'' on [[Roblox]], Arnold Castillo, used the platform to groom an anonymous minor. Months later in May, he coerced the minor into crossing state lines to his property via the service [[Uber]].<ref name=":32" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jul 29, 2022 |title=New Jersey Man Federally Charged with Enticement of a Minor and Interstate Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/pr/new-jersey-man-federally-charged-enticement-minor-and-interstate-transportation-minor |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=DOJ - Southern District of Indiana Attorney's Office}}</ref> Days after the abduction, the individual was detained and put on trial, and received 2 life sentences and $500k in fines. This occurred after Castillo's extensive history of violating the platform's Terms of Service for the purposes of grooming minors. Both his community and staff released 2 documents<ref>{{Cite web |title=The DoctorRofatnik Archives |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IBLEag66elaVPs11PimO2t2M0ikCCb67ti_RNYB0MxQ/edit?tab=t.0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/the-doctor-rofatnik-archives/mode/2up |archive-date=2020-10-26 |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Google Docs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Response to your claims |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6NozfqgKOLT1882d9xy1QuJzW0TWJXuorvincSI4z8/edit?tab=t.0 |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Google Docs}}</ref> covering his harmful behavior on both [[Roblox]] and additionally [[Discord]].<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Oct 31, 2022 |title=The Roblox Developer Arrested By The FBI |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDfdlLuAgA |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - Ruben Sim}}</ref> Roblox's moderation refused to directly handle the situation, despite the extensive reports, and his arrest compiled with the charges he faced were only successful due to datamining efforts via vigilantes on the platform.<ref name=":42" />

===''State v. Darius Matylewich (September 2023)''===
In 2023, Darius Matylewich used a combination of Roblox and other social media services to abduct an 11-year-old girl to his property across state lines.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 7, 2025 |title=Bear Man Gets 20 Years In 11-Year-Old’s Abduction |url=https://firststateupdate.com/2025/07/bear-man-gets-20-years-in-11-year-olds-abduction/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=1st State Update}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Slocum |first=Jack |date=Jul 8, 2025 |title=Delaware Man Gets Prison Time For Coercing, Kidnapping Wayne 11-Year-Old |url=https://patch.com/new-jersey/wayne/delaware-man-gets-prison-time-coercing-kidnapping-wayne-11-year-old |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Patch}}</ref> 2 years later, on July 2, 2025, Matylewich was charged with 20 years of incarceration for the coercion and enticement of a minor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Jul 7, 2025 |title=Delaware Man Sentenced To 240 Months For Coercing 11-Year-Old New Jersey Resident To Travel To Delaware For Sexual Activity |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-de/pr/delaware-man-sentenced-240-months-coercing-11-year-old-new-jersey-resident-travel |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |website=U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Delaware}}</ref> During the entire incident, Roblox neglected to halt Matylewich's activities on the platform.

===''State v. Franciou Romelus (April 2024)''===
Francious Romelus was stalking a 14-year-old girl via [[Roblox]] in 2023, eventually attempting to abduct her on April 12, 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arradondo |first=Briona |date=Apr 24, 2024 |title=Man arrested for stalking, attacking 14-year-old girl he met online: TPD |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/man-arrested-for-stalking-attacking-14-year-old-girl-he-met-online-tpd |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Fox 13 News}}</ref> Romelus was charged with aggravated stalking, transmission of harmful material to a minor, among other charges, and received a 30-year sentence. [[Roblox]] moderation again did not prevent, halt, or report the individual to authorities at that time.

===''U.S. v. Daniel Aravena Oliva'' (August 2024)===
In 2024, Daniel Aravena Oliva groomed a 13-year-old girl on the platform across international borders for several months. After flying to the US from Chile, the individual was arrested before he could sexually assault the minor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Aug 23, 2024 |title=Chilean man arrested in connection with exploitation of 14-year-old girl, Glendora police say |url=https://abc7.com/post/chilean-man-arrested-connection-exploitation-14-year-old-girl-glendora-police-say/15222531/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=ABC 7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Toohey |first=Grace |date=Aug 22, 2024 |title=Chilean man groomed 13-year-old girl he met on Roblox before flying to U.S. to meet her, police say |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-22/chilean-arrest-roblox-child-exploitation |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

===''State v. Christian Scribben'' (February to April 2025)===
Christian Scribben on multiple accounts used Roblox to coerce minors and their younger siblings to produce CSAM. Scribben was arrested in April and tried as an adult.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 2, 2025 |title=Ocala teen jailed for exploiting children he met on video game |url=https://www.ocala-news.com/2025/05/02/ocala-teen-jailed-for-exploiting-children-he-met-on-video-game/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Ocala News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hogan |first=Brandon |date=Apr 30, 2025 |title=17-year-old arrested in Marion County, accused of sexually exploiting children on Roblox |url=https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2025/04/30/17-year-old-arrested-in-marion-county-accused-of-sexually-exploiting-children-on-roblox/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Click Orlando}}</ref> On the day of Scribben's arrest, the Florida AG James Uthmeier subpoenaed Roblox regarding its marketing material, citing an excess of reports of children being exposed to “graphic or harmful material” while using the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uthmeier |first=James |date=Apr 16, 2025 |title=Attorney General James Uthmeier Fights to Protect Children Online; Subpoenas Roblox for Child-Protection Policies and Procedures |url=https://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrelease/attorney-general-james-uthmeier-fights-protect-children-online-subpoenas-roblox-child |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |website=Florida Office of Attorney General}}</ref>

===''State v. Matthew Naval'' (April to June 2025)===

Matthew Macatuno Naval allegedly abducted a 10-year-old girl soon after meeting her on Roblox,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Girl was kidnapped by man who messaged her on Roblox, officials say. 10-year-old found safe |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-16/girl-10-allegedly-kidnapped-by-man-who-messaged-on-roblox |website=Los Angeles Times |date=2025-04-16 |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |first=Kaitlyn |last=Huamani |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819041136/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-16/girl-10-allegedly-kidnapped-by-man-who-messaged-on-roblox |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref><ref name=":46">{{Cite web |title=California man accused of kidnapping 10-year-old he met on Roblox |url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/california-man-accused-of-kidnapping-10-year-old-he-met-on-roblox/3807102/ |website=NBC San Diego |date=2025-04-17 |first=Viola |last=Flowers |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819041723/https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/california-man-accused-of-kidnapping-10-year-old-he-met-on-roblox/3807102/ |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref><ref name=":47">{{Cite web |title=Elk Grove man accused of kidnapping missing child after meeting her on Roblox |url=https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/missing-kern-county-child-found-elk-grove-suspected-kidnapper/103-53c26187-7d46-4b43-964a-1010c1bf07c5 |website=ABC 10 |date=2025-04-14 |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819043626/https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/missing-kern-county-child-found-elk-grove-suspected-kidnapper/103-53c26187-7d46-4b43-964a-1010c1bf07c5 |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref> and he was charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of kidnapping a child under 14 to commit sex acts, two counts of committing sex acts with a child under 14, one count of showing sexual content to a minor, and two counts related to contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex act.<ref name=":48">{{Cite web |title=Man accused of kidnapping Taft girl held on $1.35M bail |url=https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/man-accused-of-kidnapping-taft-girl-charged-with-7-felonies/ |website=KGET.com |date=2025-04-18 |first1=Jason |last2=Kotowski |first2=Jenny |last2=Huh |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819043054/https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/man-accused-of-kidnapping-taft-girl-charged-with-7-felonies/ |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref> According to police, the survivor was found in a car at an Elk Grove strip mall over 250 miles from her home in Taft, and police returned her to her family.<ref name=":46" /><ref name=":47" /> Representing the severity of the charges against Naval, his bail was listed at about US$1.35 million.<ref name =":48" />


===Doe et al v. Roblox Corporation et al (July 2025)===
The suit Doe et al v. Roblox Corporation et al, filed on July 9, 2025, is an ongoing product liability suit where the plaintiffs are two anonymous individuals and the defendants are Roblox Corporation and [[Discord|Discord, Inc.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doe et al v. Roblox Corporation et al |url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/58931825/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al |website=PacerMonitor |date=2025-07-09 |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819035355/https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/58931825/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref> The main complaints in the original file were:
<blockquote>
(1) Fraudulent Concealment and Misrepresentations 
(2) Negligent Misrepresentation 
(3) Negligence — General 
(4) Negligence — Failure to Warn 
(5) Negligence — Unreasonable Design 
(6) Negligent Undertaking 
(7) Strict Liability — Design Defect 
(8) Strict Liability — Failure to Warn<ref>{{Cite web |title=Case 3:25-cv-05753-LB |url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/filings/DWCGRGFI/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al__candce-25-05753__0001.0.pdf |website=Pacermonitor |date=2025-07-09 |first=Paige |last=Boldt |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819035429/https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/filings/DWCGRGFI/Doe_et_al_v_Roblox_Corporation_et_al__candce-25-05753__0001.0.pdf |archive-date=2025-08-19}}</ref>
</blockquote>


===Florida Attorney-General Subpoena & Multi-State Scrutiny (July 2025)===

==Consumer response==
Users such as Schlep turn to vigilantism due to the negligence of the platform's own moderation teams.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Feb 7, 2024 |title=I Caught a Roblox PREDATOR in this game... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMSc-9jGMQ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> In response to [[Roblox|Roblox's]] submission of a cease and desist notice to Schlep,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=Schlep on X: "Every account I've ever made on Roblox has been terminated... |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954101415564951680 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref name=":02" /> the platform was condemned by the community and California 17th Congressional District Representative Ro Khanna,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horetski |first=Dylan |date=Aug 13, 2025 |title=Congressman steps in after Roblox threatens to sue & bans “predator hunter” YouTuber Schlep |url=https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/congressman-steps-in-after-roblox-threatens-to-sue-bans-predator-hunter-youtuber-schlep-3237759/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Dexerto}}</ref> and consumers promoted a hashtag #FreeSchlep in an attempt to get Schlep's account reinstated.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-11 |title=Schlep on X: "wow its trending again. 3 days in a row now I was lowkey ... |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954982451350008298 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref> The movement also received support from popular Roblox YouTuber KreekCraft.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=KreekCraft on X: "Roblox Schlep situation" / X |url=https://x.com/KreekCraft/status/1954215182311297365 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-10 |title=Roblox Banned Schlep - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKOYXcYmxow |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=YouTube}}</ref> Furthermore, Roblox outlawed vigilante groups on their platform,<ref name=":12" /> causing vigilante group RoCatchers, a predator-catching group, to disband.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=RoCatchers on X: "We sadly have to disband what we're doing on here. ... |url=https://x.com/RoCatchers/status/1954221211581301201 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref>

The platform's poor moderation choices also led to the formation of the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/ r/ROBLOXbans], which has extensive posts covering the platform both ignoring mature content and excessively punishing users over minor or absurd infractions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=r/ROBLOXBans |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/wiki/index/ |website=[[Reddit]] |access-date=2025-08-18 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424112358/https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/wiki/index/ |archive-date=2025-04-24}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{Incomplete section}}

The negligence shown by [[Roblox]] and the platform's moderation has been a key point within various forms of legislation to require identification-based verification on online services, e.g. the [[Online Safety Act|Online Safety Act of 2023]] within the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Safety Act 2023 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/contents/enacted |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250818200028/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/contents |archive-date=2025-08-18}}</ref>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Roblox]]

Module talk:Uses TemplateStyles

2025-08-18T21:09:34Z

RuefulSeraph: /* Has unusable category %s */ new section

== Has unusable category %s ==

This module has the category "%s" which seems to be an error. Is it necessary to have this category or can the module be rewritten to exclude this specific edge case so that only the pages that use this module inherit categories named in the module? - [[User:RuefulSeraph|Rueful Seraph]] ([[User talk:RuefulSeraph|talk]]) 21:09, 18 August 2025 (UTC)

User talk:AmosPetrie75138

2025-08-18T21:00:02Z

RuefulSeraph: /* Struggling with abuse filter not letting you publish your user page? */ new section

== Struggling with abuse filter not letting you publish your user page? ==

Hi! I'm not a moderator or admin of this site, just an experienced editor of wikis. I noticed you keep triggering the abuse filter "Block spammy keywords" when revising your user page. If you believe this is an error, you can try to talk about it on the Discord server (https://discord.gg/jffthdzg; this link expires in seven days) and ask why this is happening to you.

Best, [[User:RuefulSeraph|Rueful Seraph]] ([[User talk:RuefulSeraph|talk]]) 21:00, 18 August 2025 (UTC)

Roblox's problematic moderation

2025-08-18T20:56:56Z

RuefulSeraph: Changed/fixed wording and grammar/mechanical issues. Removed a part of the title from reference 49 (KreekCraft on X: "Roblox Schlep situation") because it was throwing a link error. Added extra references.

{{Incomplete}}Since [[Roblox]] launched in 2004, its moderation has been problematic for its consumers. From an obscene chat filter that has made communication on the platform difficult,<ref>{{Cite web |last=u/Gregheffley95 |date=Feb 26, 2021 |title=Roblox censors almost everything |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619214011/https://old.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/lsxpex/roblox_censors_almost_everything/ |archive-date=Jun 19, 2023 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Mar 7, 2017 |title=Why the hell are numbers censored! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/5y0w3z/why_the_hell_are_numbers_censored/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/Roblox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JParty |date=Feb 24, 2017 |title=Updates to Chat Privacy API + New Account Indicators + Changes to Text Filtering APIs |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/updates-to-chat-privacy-api-new-account-indicators-changes-to-text-filtering-apis/33867 |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Dev Forum}}</ref> to the indirect encouragement of illegal behaviors on the platform intended for young audiences.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Jan 9, 2024 |title=this simulator should NOT be on roblox... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdacOJxmjU |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Apr 14, 2024 |title=Roblox Needs to BAN These Games... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3FeYfJOhw |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

==Background==
No online platform is immune to child predators, especially those geared towards minor audiences, however, [[Roblox]] has had an extensive history regarding its poor handling of said individuals on the platform. The child predator problem has been exacerbated recently by a decision from the CEO David Baszucki to integrate dating features to the game,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baqery |first=Mohsen |date=Jul 30, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO Has Suggested the Worst Idea Possible |url=https://gamerant.com/roblox-ceo-worst-idea-dating-sim/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=GameRant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Norton |first=Brad |date=Jul 15, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO wants adults to use platform as a dating service |url=https://www.dexerto.com/roblox/roblox-ceo-wants-adults-to-use-platform-as-a-dating-service-3226769/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Dexerto}}</ref> despite at minimum 40% of the game's population being under 13 years old,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Connor |first=Jak |date=Jul 29, 2025 |title=Roblox CEO wants to add an in-game dating feature, despite 40% of players being under 13yrs old |url=https://www.tweaktown.com/news/106712/roblox-ceo-wants-to-add-an-in-game-dating-feature-despite-40-of-players-being-under-13yrs-old/index.html |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=TweakTown}}</ref> and a further 16% users are between 13 and 16 years old.<ref name=":32">{{Cite news |last=Tan |first=Nicholas |date=Nov 10, 2022 |title=Roblox Dev Arrested for Kidnapping: Who is Arnold Castillo (aka Jadon Shedletsky)? |url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/913144-roblox-dev-arrested-developer-who-is-arnold-castillo-jadon-shedletsky |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=Game Revolution}}</ref>

==Problematic moderation==
Beyond a questionable chat filtering system, [[Roblox]] has historically underinvested in adequate moderation for its userbase. The moderation team is excessively small compared to its competitors, a documented 100-200 moderation on-staff compared to [[Fortnite]]'s 1,000+ and [[Minecraft]]'s 500+ members on the moderation staff.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Sep 17, 2024 |title=Why is Roblox moderation so bad? |url=https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/why-is-roblox-moderation-so-bad/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Games Learning Society}}</ref> Combined with a lack of investment in adequate moderation tools,<ref>{{Cite news |date=Jul 24, 2024 |title=All Roblox Controversies Explained (2024) |url=https://screenrant.com/roblox-controversies-moderation-bad/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=ScreenRant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Apr 9, 2024 |title=Roblox VC moderation is terrible |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/comments/1c05qqs/roblox_vc_moderation_is_terrible/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] - r/ROBLOXBans}}</ref> it has become responsible for an excess of younger audiences being harmed on the platform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dinunzio |first=Caitlin |date=Dec 21, 2021 |title=Roblox Accused Of Being Unsafe For Children In Viral Video |url=https://screenrant.com/roblox-accusations-safety-children-people-make-games/ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |work=ScreenRant}}</ref>

Reported by Hindenburg Research, the platform outsources its moderation to call centers within Asia, many of which are paid poorly and often lack the literacy to adequately handle cases,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=Oct 8, 2024 |title=Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids |url=https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=Hindenburg Research}}</ref> and their systems required multiple offenses to even incite a temporary ban. The former moderator they interviewed cited their poor resources as a key issue as to why he would refuse to let any kids he knew to play the game.

When the platform was investigated by journalists working to uncover how the platform was additionally encouraging the exploitation of underage developers,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Quintin |date=Aug 19, 2021 |title=Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - People Make Games}}</ref> the company aimed to have the report taken down, thus leading to further research from reporters on ''People Make Games'' regarding further harmful moderation controversies.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Quintin |date=Dec 13, 2021 |title=Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMF6xEiAaY&t=10s |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - People Make Games}}</ref> In the follow-up video, the lead developer of a fan game ''Sonic Eclipse Online'' on the platform by the alias of Doc spread harmful and sexually-charged comments to female developers on his team, and while his primary account was removed from the platform, Roblox's moderation team has refused to handle the alternate account which owns all the games he published to the platform, nor the games held by this alternate account either, meaning he continued to gain revenue from his project while clearly evading his ban.<ref name=":22" /> Soon after the publication of the video, his game would then be taken down via [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act|DMCA]] from [[SEGA]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=Feb 5, 2022 |title=Sega took down Sonic Eclipse Online |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3rmxony0mQ |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - BloxEverlasting}}</ref> It was not until mid-2022 that Doc would receive federal charges for abducting a minor through his predatory behavior on the platform,<ref name=":32" /> and finally be entirely removed from said platform.

===Roblox's response===
So far, [[Roblox]] has done the following regarding its child predator problem:

* Threatened the content creator Schlep with litigation over vigilantism,<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox Is Threatening to Sue Me For Protecting Kids |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqAw_NjHK8&t |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Marcus |date=Aug 9, 2025 |title=Roblox YouTuber Battles Child Predators {{!}} Accounts Terminated Amid Backlash |url=https://leveluptalk.com/news/roblox-youtuber-fights-child-predators-banned/ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Level Up Talk}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Matt |date=Aug 7, 2025 |title=How Roblox Partners With Law Enforcement |url=https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/08/how-roblox-partners-law-enforcement |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=Roblox Blog}}</ref> despite cited neglect from the moderation by the user.<ref name=":02" />
* The integration of an open-source AI-powered system (Sentinel) to spy on chats.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ortutay |first=Barbara |date=Aug 7, 2025 |title=Roblox rolls out open-source AI system to protect kids from predators in chats |url=https://apnews.com/article/roblox-grooming-messages-ai-kids-teens-9e9d4131d46b80eead3e57b1110d48eb |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |work=Associated Press}}</ref>
* Collaborating with law enforcement according to a blog post.<ref name=":12" />

=== Intentionally covering up the problem ===
In a report from Hindenburg Research,<ref name=":32" /> they interviewed a former Senior Product Designer for the platform which directly stated:<blockquote>“You’re supposed to make sure that your users are safe and but then the downside is that, if you’re limiting users’ engagement, it’s hurting your metrics. It’s hurting the [daily] active users, the time spent on the platform, and in a lot of cases, the leadership doesn’t want that.”

“You have to make a make a decision, right? You can keep your players safe, but then it would be less of them on the platform. Or you just let them do what they want to do. And then the numbers all look good and investors will be happy.”

“You maybe see it in the numbers going down or the profits going down. Then whether you like it or not, you kind of just have to reconsider your option[s], because once you’re a public company, you’re answering to all the investors.”</blockquote>This statement in summary represented how the platform intentionally refused to integrate features to protect underage users on the platform, exclusively for the purposes of inflating the game's population to appease the platform's shareholders.

=== "Condo" games ===
The platform additionally hosts thousands of "condo" games,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dorn |first=James |date=Jul 24, 2025 |title=What is a Condo Game on Roblox? |url=https://expertbeacon.com/what-is-a-condo-on-roblox/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Expert Beacon}}</ref> to allow platform users to simulate sexual activities. Despite these games being directly in violation of Roblox's policies:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restricted Content Policy |url=https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/15869919570708-Restricted-Content-Policy |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Romantic and Sexual Content}}</ref><blockquote>"Any content which explicitly [depicts] sexual content or nudity is against the rules of Roblox"</blockquote>The platform has been slow to handle these games being frequently uploaded, especially since these games are frequently reuploaded on alternate accounts en-masse.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McGuinness |first=Devan |date=Feb 16, 2022 |title=Roblox “Condo” Strip Clubs Still Populating Platform — What to Know |url=https://www.fatherly.com/news/roblox-strip-clubs-problem-safety |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Fatherly}}</ref> Additionally, the platform has notoriously collaborated with TheOfficialTeddy, known for publishing "condo" games to the platform, even including one of his notorious titles within 2025's The Hatch event, despite his long history of frequent bans from the platform.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Ricablanca |first=Celsos |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Why did Roblox ban TheOfficialTeddy? Here’s what we know |url=https://esports.gg/news/roblox/why-did-roblox-ban-theofficialteddy-heres-what-we-know/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=eSports.gg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 17, 2025 |title=Tweet from RoCatchers |url=https://xcancel.com/RoCatchers/status/1934826134476087759 |url-status=live |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=x (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref> The platform reversed Teddy's addition within the event and re-banned the individual only after significant backlash from players and content creators participating in the event.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jun 30, 2025 |title=Tweet from Roblox |url=https://x.com/Roblox/status/1939844614997033165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1939844614997033165%7Ctwgr%5E78a1e8a53dd64d2c86722a959bc5c71bd6b0f0c5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fesports.gg%2Fnews%2Froblox%2Fwhy-did-roblox-ban-theofficialteddy-heres-what-we-know%2F |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=x (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cripe |first=Michael |date=Jul 3, 2025 |title=Roblox #BoycottTheHatch Controversy Explained |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/roblox-boycottthehatch-controversy-explained |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=[[IGN]]}}</ref>
[[File:AdultRobloxGame.png|alt=A picture of a roblox game, with the name "Escape to Epstein Island"|thumb|An example of one of the mature games on Roblox that can be played by underage accounts.]]
A sibling to the "condo" genre have been titles named after individuals known for sex trafficking, such as Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, these games were able to be easily accessed by underage users.<ref name=":5" />

Even games which may not be initially intended for mature audiences have been at risk from mature-aged users posting inappropriate content, such as "School Simulator", which failed to censor genitalia, obscene speech, and more,<ref name=":5" /> despite Roblox's claims that it reviews every piece of content uploaded to the platform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clayton |first=James |last2=Dyer |first2=Jasmin |date=Feb 15, 2022 |title=Roblox: The children's game with a sex problem |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60314572 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

==== CSAM communities ====
Some Roblox experiences have large communities that trade in child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and allow underage players to access them.<ref name=":5" /> Hindenburg reported that there are at least 38 of these groups which solicit CSAM as of 2024.<ref name=":5" /> One such group evaded moderation for at least 15 years by disguising itself as “''[ Content Deleted 19208 ]''”, with ID info stating that it formed in 2009.<ref name=":5" /> Moderation For Dummies reported the existence of at least 12,400 accounts which dabble in various levels of CSAM on the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Sep 2, 2024 |title=Tweet from Mod For Dummies |url=https://xcancel.com/ModForDummies/status/1830646065948958861 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=X (formerly [[Twitter]])}}</ref>

==Lawsuits and legal controversies==
{{Incomplete section}}
Litigation has been frequent for the platform regarding its neglect to handle child predators for several years now. The following is a brief list from over 300 unique legal incidents<ref>{{Cite news |last=Musumeci |first=Natalie |date=Aug 13, 2025 |title=Roblox accused of being a 'hunting ground' for child predators as legal firestorm against gaming giant intensifies |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-online-gaming-giant-child-predator-allegations-lawsuits-2025-8?op=1 |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Business Insider}}</ref> regarding Roblox's moderation:

===Arnold Castillo (February to July 2022)===
In February 2022, the lead game developer for the game ''Sonic Eclipse Online'' on [[Roblox]], Arnold Castillo, used the platform to groom an anonymous minor. Months later in May, he coerced the minor into crossing state lines to his property via the service [[Uber]].<ref name=":32" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=Jul 29, 2022 |title=New Jersey Man Federally Charged with Enticement of a Minor and Interstate Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/pr/new-jersey-man-federally-charged-enticement-minor-and-interstate-transportation-minor |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=DOJ - Southern District of Indiana Attorney's Office}}</ref> Days after the abduction, the individual was detained and put on trial, and received 2 life sentences and $500k in fines. This occurred after Castillo's extensive history of violating the platform's Terms of Service for the purposes of grooming minors. Both his community and staff released 2 documents<ref>{{Cite web |title=The DoctorRofatnik Archives |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IBLEag66elaVPs11PimO2t2M0ikCCb67ti_RNYB0MxQ/edit?tab=t.0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/the-doctor-rofatnik-archives/mode/2up |archive-date=2020-10-26 |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Google Docs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Response to your claims |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6NozfqgKOLT1882d9xy1QuJzW0TWJXuorvincSI4z8/edit?tab=t.0 |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=Google Docs}}</ref> covering his harmful behavior on both [[Roblox]] and additionally [[Discord]].<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |date=Oct 31, 2022 |title=The Roblox Developer Arrested By The FBI |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDfdlLuAgA |access-date=Aug 11, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]] - Ruben Sim}}</ref> Roblox's moderation refused to directly handle the situation, despite the extensive reports, and his arrest compiled with the charges he faced were only successful due to datamining efforts via vigilantes on the platform.<ref name=":42" />

===''State v. Darius Matylewich (September 2023)''===
In 2023, Darius Matylewich used a combination of Roblox and other social media services to abduct an 11-year-old girl to his property across state lines.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 7, 2025 |title=Bear Man Gets 20 Years In 11-Year-Old’s Abduction |url=https://firststateupdate.com/2025/07/bear-man-gets-20-years-in-11-year-olds-abduction/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=1st State Update}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Slocum |first=Jack |date=Jul 8, 2025 |title=Delaware Man Gets Prison Time For Coercing, Kidnapping Wayne 11-Year-Old |url=https://patch.com/new-jersey/wayne/delaware-man-gets-prison-time-coercing-kidnapping-wayne-11-year-old |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Patch}}</ref> 2 years later, on July 2, 2025, Matylewich was charged with 20 years of incarceration for the coercion and enticement of a minor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Jul 7, 2025 |title=Delaware Man Sentenced To 240 Months For Coercing 11-Year-Old New Jersey Resident To Travel To Delaware For Sexual Activity |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-de/pr/delaware-man-sentenced-240-months-coercing-11-year-old-new-jersey-resident-travel |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |website=U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Delaware}}</ref> During the entire incident, Roblox neglected to halt Matylewich's activities on the platform.

===''State v. Franciou Romelus (April 2024)''===
Francious Romelus was stalking a 14-year-old girl via [[Roblox]] in 2023, eventually attempting to abduct her on April 12, 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arradondo |first=Briona |date=Apr 24, 2024 |title=Man arrested for stalking, attacking 14-year-old girl he met online: TPD |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/man-arrested-for-stalking-attacking-14-year-old-girl-he-met-online-tpd |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Fox 13 News}}</ref> Romelus was charged with aggravated stalking, transmission of harmful material to a minor, among other charges, and received a 30-year sentence. [[Roblox]] moderation again did not prevent, halt, or report the individual to authorities at that time.

===''U.S. v. Daniel Aravena Oliva'' (August 2024)===
In 2024, Daniel Aravena Oliva groomed a 13-year-old girl on the platform across international borders for several months. After flying to the US from Chile, the individual was arrested before he could sexually assault the minor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Aug 23, 2024 |title=Chilean man arrested in connection with exploitation of 14-year-old girl, Glendora police say |url=https://abc7.com/post/chilean-man-arrested-connection-exploitation-14-year-old-girl-glendora-police-say/15222531/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=ABC 7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Toohey |first=Grace |date=Aug 22, 2024 |title=Chilean man groomed 13-year-old girl he met on Roblox before flying to U.S. to meet her, police say |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-22/chilean-arrest-roblox-child-exploitation |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

===''State v. Christian Scribben'' (February to April 2025)===
Christian Scribben on multiple accounts used Roblox to coerce minors and their younger siblings to produce CSAM. Scribben was arrested in April and tried as an adult.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 2, 2025 |title=Ocala teen jailed for exploiting children he met on video game |url=https://www.ocala-news.com/2025/05/02/ocala-teen-jailed-for-exploiting-children-he-met-on-video-game/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Ocala News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hogan |first=Brandon |date=Apr 30, 2025 |title=17-year-old arrested in Marion County, accused of sexually exploiting children on Roblox |url=https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2025/04/30/17-year-old-arrested-in-marion-county-accused-of-sexually-exploiting-children-on-roblox/ |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |work=Click Orlando}}</ref> On the day of Scribben's arrest, the Florida AG James Uthmeier subpoenaed Roblox regarding its marketing material, citing an excess of reports of children being exposed to “graphic or harmful material” while using the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uthmeier |first=James |date=Apr 16, 2025 |title=Attorney General James Uthmeier Fights to Protect Children Online; Subpoenas Roblox for Child-Protection Policies and Procedures |url=https://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrelease/attorney-general-james-uthmeier-fights-protect-children-online-subpoenas-roblox-child |access-date=Aug 12, 2025 |website=Florida Office of Attorney General}}</ref>

===''State v. Matthew Naval'' (April to June 2025)===
In 2025, Matthew Naval abducted a 10-year-old girl soon after meeting her on Roblox, with several felony charges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Girl was kidnapped by man who messaged her on Roblox, officials say. 10-year-old found safe |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-16/girl-10-allegedly-kidnapped-by-man-who-messaged-on-roblox |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2025-08-18 |first=Kaitlyn |last=Huamani |url-access=subscription}}</ref>


===Doe et al v. Roblox Corporation et al (July 2025)===


===Florida Attorney-General Subpoena & Multi-State Scrutiny (July 2025)===

==Consumer response==
Users such as Schlep have turned to vigilantism due to the negligence of the platform's own moderation teams.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlep |date=Feb 7, 2024 |title=I Caught a Roblox PREDATOR in this game... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMSc-9jGMQ |access-date=Aug 10, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> In response, [[Roblox]] issued a cease and desist notice to Schlep,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=Schlep on X: "Every account I've ever made on Roblox has been terminated... |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954101415564951680 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref name=":02" /> being condemned by the community and a congressman,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horetski |first=Dylan |date=Aug 13, 2025 |title=Congressman steps in after Roblox threatens to sue & bans “predator hunter” YouTuber Schlep |url=https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/congressman-steps-in-after-roblox-threatens-to-sue-bans-predator-hunter-youtuber-schlep-3237759/ |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |work=Dexerto}}</ref> prompting a hashtag #FreeSchlep,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-11 |title=Schlep on X: "wow its trending again. 3 days in a row now I was lowkey ... |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954982451350008298 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref> notably with support from popular [[Roblox]] Youtuber KreekCraft.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=KreekCraft on X: "Roblox Schlep situation" / X |url=https://x.com/KreekCraft/status/1954215182311297365 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-10 |title=Roblox Banned Schlep - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKOYXcYmxow |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=YouTube}}</ref> Furthermore, [[Roblox]] has publicly outlawed vigilante groups on their platform,<ref name=":12" /> causing vigilante group RoCatchers, a predator-catching group, to disband.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-09 |title=RoCatchers on X: "We sadly have to disband what we're doing on here. ... |url=https://x.com/RoCatchers/status/1954221211581301201 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=X}}</ref>

The platform's poor moderation choices also led to the formation of the subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/ r/ROBLOXbans], which has extensive posts covering the platform both ignoring mature content and excessively punishing users over minor or absurd infractions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=r/ROBLOXBans |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/wiki/index/ |website=[[Reddit]] |access-date=2025-08-18 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424112358/https://www.reddit.com/r/ROBLOXBans/wiki/index/ |archive-date=2025-04-24}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{Incomplete section}}

The negligence shown by [[Roblox]] and the platform's moderation has been a key point within various forms of legislation to require identification-based verification on online services, e.g. the [[Online Safety Act|Online Safety Act of 2023]] within the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Safety Act 2023 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/contents/enacted |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |access-date=2025-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250818200028/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/contents |archive-date=2025-08-18}}</ref>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Roblox]]

Template:Cite web/doc

2025-08-18T20:03:47Z

RuefulSeraph: minor grammar/mechanical changes

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"website": {
"label": "Name of the website",
"description": "Title (name) of the website (or its short URL if no plain-language title is discernible); may be wikilinked; will display in italics. Having both 'publisher' and 'website' is redundant in many cases.",
"type": "string",
"aliases": [
"work"
],
"suggested": true,
"example": "[[Rotten Tomatoes]]"
},
"publisher": {
"label": "Publisher",
"description": "Name of the publisher; may be wikilinked. Having both 'publisher' and 'website' (a.k.a. 'work') is redundant in many cases.",
"type": "string",
"example": "[[Fandom, Inc.]] (which owns \"Metacritic.com\")"
},
"last": {
"label": "Last name",
"description": "The surname of the author; don't wikilink (use 'author-link' for that); can suffix with a numeral to add additional authors (eg last1). Tied to 'first'",
"aliases": [
"last1",
"author",
"author1",
"author1-last",
"author-last",
"surname1",
"author-last1",
"subject1",
"surname",
"subject"
],
"type": "line",
"suggested": true
},
"first": {
"label": "First name",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the author; don't wikilink (use 'author-link' for that); can suffix with a numeral to add additional authors (eg first1). Tied to 'last'.",
"aliases": [
"given",
"author-first",
"first1",
"given1",
"author-first1",
"author1-first"
],
"type": "line",
"suggested": true
},
"author-link": {
"label": "Author link",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the author; can suffix with a numeral to add additional authors (e.g. author-link1)",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author-link1",
"author1-link",
"subject-link",
"subject-link1",
"subject1-link",
"authorlink"
]
},
"last2": {
"label": "Last name 2",
"description": "The surname of the second author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link2'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author2"
]
},
"first2": {
"label": "First name 2",
"type": "line",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the second author; don't wikilink."
},
"author-link2": {
"label": "Author link 2",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the second author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author2-link"
]
},
"others": {
"label": "Others",
"description": "Used to record other (non-author) contributions to the work, such as 'Illustrated by John Smith' or 'Translated by John Smith'. Only one ''others'' parameter is allowed: e.g., 'Illustrated by Jane Doe; Translated by John Smith'",
"type": "string"
},
"year": {
"label": "Year of publication",
"description": "Year of the source being referenced; deprecated in favor of 'date', except for the special case of ISO dates with disambiguating letter",
"type": "string"
},
"orig-date": {
"label": "Original date",
"description": "Original date of publication; provide specifics",
"type": "string"
},
"editor-last": {
"label": "Editor last name",
"description": "The surname of the editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor-link'; can suffix with a numeral to add additional editors.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"editor1-last",
"editor"
]
},
"editor-first": {
"label": "Editor first name",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor-link'; can suffix with a numeral to add additional editors; alias of 'editor1-first'",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"editor1-first"
]
},
"editor-link": {
"label": "Editor link",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the editor; can suffix with a numeral to add additional editors",
"aliases": [
"editor1-link"
],
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"series": {
"label": "Series identifier",
"description": "Series identifier when the source is part of a series, such as a book series or a journal",
"type": "string"
},
"publication-place": {
"label": "Place of publication",
"description": "Publication place shows after title; if 'place' or 'location' are also given, they are displayed before the title prefixed with 'written at'",
"type": "string"
},
"publication-date": {
"label": "Publication date",
"description": "Date of publication when different from the date the work was written; do not wikilink",
"example": "Format as YYYY-MM-DD (2020-12-30) or DD Mon YYYY (30 Dec 2025)",
"type": "date"
},
"page": {
"label": "Page",
"description": "Page in the source that supports the content; displays after 'p.'",
"type": "string"
},
"pages": {
"label": "Pages",
"description": "Pages in the source that support the content (not an indication of the number of pages in the source); displays after 'pp.'",
"type": "string"
},
"no-pp": {
"label": "No pp",
"description": "Set to 'y' to suppress the 'p.' or 'pp.' display with 'page' or 'pages' when inappropriate (such as 'Front cover')",
"type": "boolean",
"autovalue": "y"
},
"at": {
"label": "At",
"description": "May be used instead of 'page' or 'pages' where a page number is inappropriate or insufficient",
"type": "string"
},
"language": {
"label": "Language",
"description": "The language in which the source is written, if not English; use a two-letter language code or the full language name. Do not use icons or templates. Separate multiple languages with commas",
"type": "string",
"aliases": [
"lang"
],
"example": "de, fr, es"
},
"script-title": {
"label": "Script title",
"description": "For titles in languages that do not use a Latin-based alphabet (Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, etc.). Prefix with two-character ISO639-1 language code followed by a colon. For Japanese use: |script-title=ja:...",
"type": "string"
},
"trans-title": {
"label": "Translated title",
"description": "An English language title, if the source cited is in a foreign language; 'language' is recommended",
"type": "string"
},
"type": {
"label": "Type",
"description": "Additional information about the media type of the source; format in sentence case",
"type": "string"
},
"format": {
"label": "Format",
"description": "Format of the work referred to by 'url'; examples: PDF, DOC, XLS; do not specify HTML",
"type": "string"
},
"arxiv": {
"label": "arXiv identifier",
"description": "An identifier for arXive electronic preprints of scientific papers",
"type": "string"
},
"asin": {
"label": "ASIN",
"description": "Amazon Standard Identification Number; 10 characters",
"type": "string"
},
"asin-tld": {
"label": "ASIN TLD",
"description": "ASIN top-level domain for Amazon sites other than the US",
"type": "string"
},
"bibcode": {
"label": "Bibcode",
"description": "Bibliographic Reference Code (REFCODE); 19 characters",
"type": "string"
},
"biorxiv": {
"label": "biorXiv",
"description": "biorXiv identifier; 6 digits",
"type": "line"
},
"citeseerx": {
"label": "CiteSeerX",
"description": "CiteSeerX identifier; found after the 'doi=' query parameter",
"type": "line"
},
"doi": {
"label": "DOI",
"description": "Digital Object Identifier; begins with '10.'",
"type": "string"
},
"doi-broken-date": {
"label": "DOI broken date",
"description": "The date that the DOI was determined to be broken",
"type": "date",
"autovalue": ""
},
"isbn": {
"label": "ISBN",
"description": "International Standard Book Number; use the 13-digit ISBN where possible",
"type": "string"
},
"issn": {
"label": "ISSN",
"description": "International Standard Serial Number; 8 characters; may be split into two groups of four using a hyphen",
"type": "string"
},
"jfm": {
"label": "jfm code",
"description": "Jahrbuch über die Fortschritte der Mathematik classification code",
"type": "string"
},
"jstor": {
"label": "JSTOR",
"description": "JSTOR identifier",
"type": "string"
},
"lccn": {
"label": "LCCN",
"description": "Library of Congress Control Number",
"type": "string"
},
"mr": {
"label": "MR",
"description": "Mathematical Reviews identifier",
"type": "string"
},
"oclc": {
"label": "OCLC",
"description": "Online Computer Library Center number",
"type": "string"
},
"ol": {
"label": "OL",
"description": "Open Library identifier",
"type": "string"
},
"osti": {
"label": "OSTI",
"description": "Office of Scientific and Technical Information identifier",
"type": "string"
},
"pmc": {
"label": "PMC",
"description": "PubMed Center article number",
"type": "string"
},
"pmid": {
"label": "PMID",
"description": "PubMed Unique Identifier",
"type": "string"
},
"rfc": {
"label": "RFC",
"description": "Request for Comments number",
"type": "string"
},
"ssrn": {
"label": "SSRN",
"description": "Social Science Research Network",
"type": "string"
},
"zbl": {
"label": "Zbl",
"description": "Zentralblatt MATH journal identifier",
"type": "string"
},
"id": {
"label": "id",
"description": "A unique identifier used where none of the specialized ones are applicable",
"type": "string"
},
"archive-url": {
"label": "Archive URL",
"description": "The URL of an archived copy of a web page, if or in case the URL becomes unavailable; requires 'archive-date'",
"type": "url",
"suggested": true,
"autovalue": "",
"aliases": [
"archiveurl"
]
},
"archive-date": {
"label": "Archive date",
"description": "Date when the original URL was archived; do not wikilink",
"type": "date",
"suggested": true,
"example": "Format as YYYY-MM-DD (2020-12-30) or DD Mon YYYY (30 Dec 2025)",
"aliases": [
"archivedate"
]
},
"archive-format": {
"label": "Archive format",
"description": "Format of the archived copy; do not specify HTML",
"type": "string",
"example": "PDF, DOC, XLS"
},
"quote": {
"label": "Quote",
"description": "Relevant text quoted from the source; displays last, enclosed in quotes; must include terminating punctuation",
"type": "string"
},
"trans-quote": {
"label": "Translated quote",
"description": "English translation of the quotation if the source quoted is in a foreign language. Displays in square brackets.",
"type": "string"
},
"ref": {
"label": "Ref",
"description": "An anchor identifier; can be made the target of wikilinks to full references",
"type": "string"
},
"postscript": {
"label": "Postscript",
"description": "The closing punctuation for the citation; ignored if 'quote' is defined",
"type": "string",
"default": "."
},
"author-mask": {
"label": "Author mask",
"description": "Replaces the name of the first author with em dashes or text; set to a numeric value 'n' to set the dash 'n' em spaces wide; set to a text value to display the text without a trailing author separator; for example, 'with' instead",
"type": "string"
},
"last3": {
"label": "Last name 3",
"description": "The surname of the third author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link3'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author3"
]
},
"first3": {
"label": "First name 3",
"type": "line",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the third author; don't wikilink."
},
"author-link3": {
"label": "Author link 3",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the third author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author3-link"
]
},
"last4": {
"label": "Last name 4",
"description": "The surname of the fourth author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link4'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author4"
]
},
"first4": {
"label": "First name 4",
"type": "line",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the fourth author; don't wikilink."
},
"author-link4": {
"label": "Author link 4",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the fourth author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author4-link"
]
},
"last5": {
"label": "Last name 5",
"description": "The surname of the fifth author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link5'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author5"
]
},
"first5": {
"label": "First name 5",
"type": "line",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the fifth author; don't wikilink."
},
"author-link5": {
"label": "Author link 5",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the fifth author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author5-link"
]
},
"last6": {
"label": "Last name 6",
"description": "The surname of the sixth author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link6'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author6"
]
},
"first6": {
"label": "First name 6",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the sixth author; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"author-link6": {
"label": "Author link 6",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the sixth author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author6-link"
]
},
"last7": {
"label": "Last name 7",
"description": "The surname of the seventh author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link7'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author7"
]
},
"first7": {
"label": "First name 7",
"type": "line",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the seventh author; don't wikilink."
},
"author-link7": {
"label": "Author link 7",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the seventh author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author7-link"
]
},
"last8": {
"label": "Last name 8",
"description": "The surname of the eighth author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link8'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author8"
]
},
"first8": {
"label": "First name 8",
"type": "line",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the eighth author; don't wikilink."
},
"author-link8": {
"label": "Author link 8",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the eighth author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author8-link"
]
},
"last9": {
"label": "Last name 9",
"description": "The surname of the ninth author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link9'.",
"type": "line",
"aliases": [
"author9"
]
},
"first9": {
"label": "First name 9",
"type": "line",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the ninth author; don't wikilink."
},
"author-link9": {
"label": "Author link 9",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the ninth author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name",
"aliases": [
"author9-link"
]
},
"display-authors": {
"label": "Display authors",
"description": "Number of authors to display before 'et al.' is used. By default, all authors are displayed. Examples: |display-authors=2 will display only the first two authors in a citation followed by et al. |display-authors=etal displays all authors in the list followed by et al.",
"type": "string"
},
"name-list-style": {
"label": "Name list style",
"description": "Set to 'amp' or 'and' to change the separator between the last two names of the name list to ' & ' or ' and ', respectively. Set to 'vanc' to display name lists in Vancouver style.",
"type": "string",
"suggestedvalues": [
"amp",
"and",
"vanc"
]
},
"editor2-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 2",
"description": "The surname of the second editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor2-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor2"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor2-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 2",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the second editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor3-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 3",
"description": "The surname of the third editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor3-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor3"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor3-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 3",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the third editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor4-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 4",
"description": "The surname of the fourth editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor4-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor4"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor4-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 4",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the fourth editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor5-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 5",
"description": "The surname of the fifth editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor5-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor5"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor5-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 5",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the fifth editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor6-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 6",
"description": "The surname of the sixth editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor6-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor6"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor6-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 6",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the sixth editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor7-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 7",
"description": "The surname of the seventh editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor7-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor7"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor7-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 7",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the seventh editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor8-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 8",
"description": "The surname of the eighth editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor8-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor8"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor8-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 8",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the eighth editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor9-last": {
"label": "Editor last name 9",
"description": "The surname of the ninth editor; don't wikilink, use 'editor9-link'.",
"aliases": [
"editor9"
],
"type": "line"
},
"editor9-first": {
"label": "Editor first name 9",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the ninth editor; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"editor2-link": {
"label": "Editor link 2",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the second editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"editor3-link": {
"label": "Editor link 3",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the third editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"editor4-link": {
"label": "Editor link 4",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the fourth editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"editor5-link": {
"label": "Editor link 5",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the fifth editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"editor6-link": {
"label": "Editor link 6",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the sixth editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"editor7-link": {
"label": "Editor link 7",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the seventh editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"editor8-link": {
"label": "Editor link 8",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the eighth editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"editor9-link": {
"label": "Editor link 9",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the ninth editor.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"edition": {
"label": "Edition",
"type": "line",
"description": "Specify the edition or revision of the source, when applicable. For example: '2nd' or '5.1'. What you supply here is suffixed by ' ed.'",
"example": "2nd"
},
"url-access": {
"label": "URL access level",
"description": "Classification of the access restrictions on the URL",
"type": "string",
"suggestedvalues": [
"registration",
"subscription",
"limited"
],
"example": "'registration', 'subscription' or 'limited'"
},
"bibcode-access": {
"label": "Bibcode access level",
"description": "If the full text is available from ADS via this Bibcode, type 'free'.",
"type": "string",
"autovalue": "free"
},
"doi-access": {
"label": "DOI access level",
"description": "If the full text is free to read via the DOI, type 'free'.",
"type": "string",
"autovalue": "free"
},
"hdl-access": {
"label": "HDL access level",
"description": "If the full text is free to read via the HDL, type 'free'.",
"type": "string",
"autovalue": "free"
},
"jstor-access": {
"label": "Jstor access level",
"description": "If the full text is free to read on Jstor, type 'free'.",
"type": "string",
"autovalue": "free"
},
"ol-access": {
"label": "OpenLibrary access level",
"description": "If the full text is free to read on OpenLibrary, type 'free'.",
"type": "string",
"autovalue": "free"
},
"osti-access": {
"label": "OSTI access level",
"description": "If the full text is free to read on OSTI, type 'free'.",
"type": "string",
"autovalue": "free"
},
"via": {
"label": "Published via",
"description": "Name of the entity hosting the original copy of the work, if different from the publisher. This entity is committed not to alter the work.",
"example": "[[GitHub]], [[SourceForge]], [[CodePlex]], [[YouTube]], [[Vimeo]], [[Dailymotion]], [[Netflix]], [[Archive.org]], [[Wikimedia Commons]], [[grc.com]]",
"type": "string"
},
"url-status": {
"label": "URL status",
"description": "If set to 'live', the title display is adjusted; useful for when the URL is archived preemptively but still live. Set to \"dead\" or 'usurped' for broken links. Entering 'unfit' or 'usurped' makes the original link not appear at all.",
"example": "'dead' or 'live'",
"type": "string",
"default": "'dead' if an Archive URL is entered",
"suggested": true,
"suggestedvalues": [
"dead",
"live",
"usurped",
"unfit",
"deviated"
]
},
"agency": {
"label": "Agency",
"description": "The news agency (wire service) that provided the content; examples: Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse",
"type": "string"
},
"place": {
"label": "Place",
"description": "For news stories with a dateline, the location where the story was written; will be treated as the publication place if publication place is absent; alias of 'location'",
"type": "string"
},
"author-link10": {
"aliases": [
"author10-link"
],
"label": "Author link 10",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the tenth author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"author-link11": {
"aliases": [
"author11-link"
],
"label": "Author link 11",
"description": "Title of existing Consumer Rights Wiki article about the eleventh author.",
"type": "wiki-page-name"
},
"last10": {
"aliases": [
"author10"
],
"label": "Last name 10",
"description": "The surname of the tenth author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link10'.",
"type": "line"
},
"first10": {
"label": "First name 10",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the tenth author; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"first11": {
"label": "First name 11",
"description": "Given or first name, middle names, or initials of the eleventh author; don't wikilink.",
"type": "line"
},
"last11": {
"aliases": [
"author11"
],
"label": "Last name 11",
"description": "The surname of the eleventh author; don't wikilink, use 'author-link11'.",
"type": "line"
},
"last12": {
"aliases": [
"author12"
],
"label": "Last name 12",
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Minecraft post-purchase ownership rights changes

2025-08-18T19:39:13Z

RuefulSeraph: Added categories. Added useful template calls. Moved inline citations to after punctuation as is standard

{{IncidentCargo
|Company=Mojang, Microsoft
|StartDate=2009-05-19
|Status=Active
|ProductLine=Minecraft
|Product=Minecraft Java Edition
|ArticleType=Product
|Type=Terms of Service
|Description=A game first sold as a DRM-fee product, slowly became a license to a service.
}}[[wikipedia:Minecraft#:~:text=The%20first%20public%20alpha%20build|Minecraft Alpha]] was published and sold by a small developer, advocating for consumer ownership, promising [[Digital Rights Management(DRM)|Digital Rights Management (DRM)]]-free software<ref name=":2">,{{Cite web |date=2011-09-23 |title=Minecraft - About the game |url=http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923112156/http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |archive-date=2011-09-23 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref> free optional updates, and a free copy of the fully released version for every earlier buyer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2011-09-23 |title=Minecraft Terms of Use |url=http://www.minecraft.net/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923135753/http://www.minecraft.net/terms |archive-date=2011-09-23 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref>

After years of changes in the title and content of the terms of use, all the previous buyers who failed to stop accepting updates in time, had to choose between forfeiting the ownership or losing the option to use the software offline.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Minecraft account migration |url=https://consumerrights.wiki/Minecraft_account_migration |url-status=live |access-date= |website=Consumer Rights Wiki}}</ref> The product became a license with DRM that can be terminated at anytime by [[Microsoft]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-30 |title=Microsoft Services Agreement |url=https://www.microsoft.com/servicesagreement |url-status= |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=microsoft.com}}</ref>

The user side of legal contract to use Minecraft at the 2011 full release is called ''“Terms of use” (TOU)'',<ref name=":0" /> later ''“End-user license agreement” (EULA)'',<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Minecraft EULA |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula |url-status=live |website=minecraft.net}}</ref> and the changes it went through since 2011, can imply most of the existing [[:Category:Anti-Consumer Practices|anti-consumer practices]], not just consumer ownership rights erosion.

Note: this article focuses on the original Minecraft (Java Edition) and is not relevant to other versions of Minecraft.

==Background==
===Mojang Studios===
{{Main|Mojang}}

Minecraft is a sandbox game developed and published by Mojang Studios. Formally released on 18 November 2011 for PCs, following its initial public alpha release on 17 May 2009. The first sold version is later designated as Java edition.

The game was downloaded more than 100 million times before Microsoft purchased Mojang AB.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-15 |title=Minecraft sold: Microsoft buys Mojang for $2.5bn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426211234/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |archive-date=2025-04-26 |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

===Microsoft===
{{Main|Microsoft}}

<blockquote>In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion.

Minecraft as a multi-platform game is the best-selling video game of all time, with over 350 million copies sold (as of 2025) and 140 million monthly active players (as of 2021)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Wikipedia - Minecraft |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft |url-status=live |website=Wikipedia}}</ref></blockquote>

===Source clarification:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2013-01-13 |title=Mojang Terms and Conditions |url=https://account.mojang.com/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827123036/https://account.mojang.com/terms#eula |archive-date=2013-08-27 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2010-12-20 |title=copyright.jsp |url=http://www.minecraft.net/copyright.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221093644/http://www.minecraft.net:80/copyright.jsp |archive-date=2010-12-21 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=support.jsp |url=http://www.minecraft.net/support.js |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725180118/http://www.minecraft.net/support.jsp |archive-date=2010-07-25 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref>===

*Minecraft’s TOU/EULA was published as a page on the publisher’s game store site and as a text file in the game directory.
*Earlier verifiable versions of the TOU/ EULA are only available on archived versions of Minecraft’s website, but there were times when multiple TOU/EULA versions were available simultaneously. Exact dates of changes may vary, and the sources should respectively be the earliest or the latest found versions. These changes were mainly announced to the customer upon downloading and installing an update.
*The .txt file changes containing the TOU/EULA, that were downloaded and agreed to by the users with software updates, mostly exist in non-verifiable user directories.
*Minecraft has many versions, editions, websites, shops, on multiple platforms, with two account migrations, with corresponding terms. All changing throughout the years, as in content, in place of publication, and in the usage of dating or version history

===2009-2011 Ownership in Minecraft Alpha and Beta===
The first public version was Java Edition Classic 0.0.11a, an unfinished single player offline usable game, with early codes for multiplayer, and with a separate launcher that was capable of updating the game and the launcher itself.

While under development and before the creation of the TOU, mojang had published its term in support.jsp<ref name=":4" /> or copyright.jsp.<ref name=":3" />

==Timeline of ownership-relevant TOU/EULA changes (2011-2025)==

===2011-09-23 Ownership terms in full release of Minecraft 1.0.0===

====Online store product page information about the software before TOU agreement 2011-09-13 - 2012-08-18:<ref name=":2" />====
<blockquote>Purchase Minecraft

(...)

Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM.</blockquote>

====TOU for Minecraft 1.0.0<ref name=":0" />====
The game is in development, but the developer promises free copy of the full game - only before 2013-12<blockquote>What You Get For Purchasing When you purchase Minecraft you do so as is, be it in the early stages of development or already fully released. Subsequent updates are only an added bonus and not a guarantee, as icing on a cake. Purchases during the development of the game are discounted and include the full game upon release.</blockquote>The buyer of the software can use the software<blockquote>USING OUR GAME

You have bought the game so you can use it, yourself, on your computer.</blockquote>Publisher can change the TOU
<blockquote>We reserve the right to change this agreement at any time with or without notice, with immediate and/or retroactive effect. </blockquote>

===2011-2014 Ownership changes in TOU before Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios===

====2012-10-11 The new account.mojang.com site arrives with a set of its own terms<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-06-29 |title=Mojang Terms and Conditions |url=https://account.mojang.com/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011213958/https://account.mojang.com/terms |archive-date=2012-10-11 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref>====
<blockquote>These terms and conditions incorporates the terms of use for the mojang.com webite, our end user license agreement, our brand and asset usage guidelines, and our privacy policy.</blockquote>These contain parts of the older TOU, but new parts worded for the new accounts and the new website appear. The minectaft.net/terms page with the TOU is also available from the store page until 2013-12-04.<ref name=":8" />

====2013-12-12 The TOU fully merges into the EULA of account.mojang.com with the end of minecraft.net/terms<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=2013-12-04 |title=Minecraft Terms of Use |url=https://minecraft.net/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204204127/https://minecraft.net/terms |archive-date=2013-12-04 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref><ref name=":7" />====
Publisher can revoke permission to use the software<blockquote>The permission we give you to use and play our Game can be revoked if you break the terms of this EULA. </blockquote>

====Publisher is the owner of the software====
<blockquote>OWNERSHIP OF OUR GAME AND OTHER THINGS

Although we give you permission to play our Game, we are still the owners of it. We are also the owners of our brands and any content contained in the Game. Therefore, when you pay for our Game, you are buying a permission to play / use our Game in accordance with this EULA - you are not buying the Game itself. The only permissions you have in connection with the Game are the permissions set out in this EULA.</blockquote>

====The users can avoid accepting Eula changes by not accepting software updates====
<blockquote>We may also change this EULA from time to time but those changes will only be effective to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you only use the Game in single player mode and don‘t use the updates we make available then the old EULA applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new EULA will apply. In that case we may not be able to / don‘t need to tell you about the changes for them to have effect so you should check back here from time to time so you are aware of any changes to the EULA. We‘re not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it. </blockquote>

===2014- Ownership in EULA After Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios===

====2015-10-27 The subject of the transaction changes from "bought the game" to "have been granted a license to play the game"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-10-27 |title=account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url=https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027155030/https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |archive-date=2015-10-27 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref>====
<blockquote>USING OUR GAME

You have been granted a license to the Game so you can play and use it, yourself, on your devices.</blockquote>

====2020-10 - 2022-08 Mandatory [[Minecraft account migration|account migration]] from Mojang account to Microsoft account with new EULA<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-15 |title=account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url=https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715120420/https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |archive-date=2019-07-15 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref>====
Buyers who failed to migrate, but kept their launcher up to date, lost their access to the software.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-08 |title=I DIDN’T Migrate my Minecraft Account - Here’s What Happened |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUFDRAEducI |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref>

Microsoft Services Agreement also included in minecrafts’ EULA:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-16 |title=Minecraft Community Standards |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/community-standards |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716182927/https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/community-standards |archive-date=2019-07-16 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref>

<blockquote>b. The software is licensed, not sold, and Microsoft reserves all rights to the software not expressly granted by Microsoft, whether by implication, estoppel, or otherwise.</blockquote><blockquote>The application is licensed, not sold. This agreement only gives you some rights to use the application. If Microsoft disables the ability to use the applications on your devices pursuant to your agreement with Microsoft, any associated license rights will terminate.</blockquote>

====2023-08-02 Removed the information about the option of users avoiding EULA changes by not accepting updates<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-02 |title=minecraft.net/en-us/eula |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802210823/https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula |archive-date=2023-08-02 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref>====
<blockquote>We may change this EULA from time to time, if we have reason to, such as changes to our games, our practices, or our legal obligation. But those changes will be effective only to the extent that they can legally apply. In that case we'll inform you of the change before it takes effect, either by posting a notice on our website or by other reasonable means. We're not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the game and we therefore need to put a lid on it.</blockquote>

==Numbers of affected users==

===Estimated minimum number of Minecraft Java edition copies sold before ownership changes in the TOU/EULA<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-24 |title=minecraft.net/stats |url=http://www.minecraft.net/stats |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724055823/http://www.minecraft.net/stats |archive-date=2012-07-24 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref>===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Date of change
!Copies sold
!Version
!TOU/EULA change
|-
|2012-08
|~ 5million
|
|while the product page states: “Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM”
|-
|2013-06
|~ 10.2 million
|
|before launcher software first includes DRM
|-
|2013-12
|~ 13 million
|
|while early customers were promised a full version, and before first mention of permission revocation right of the publisher
|-
|2015-10
|~ 20 million
|
|before the subject of the transaction changes from "bought the game" to "have been granted a license to play the game"
|-
|2016-05
|~ 23 million
|
|before Microsoft becomes the owner of Mojang<ref name=":9" />
|-
|2020-10
|~ 33 million
|
|before EULA includes Microsoft Services Agreement
|}

==Mojang's response==



The publisher reserved these rights by stateing the reservation in the TOU/EULA:

in the first terms:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>“We reserve the right to change this agreement at any time with or without notice, with immediate and/or retroactive effect.”</blockquote>since 2013-08-27:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“The permission we give you to use and play our Game can be revoked if you break the terms of this EULA. “ </blockquote>2013-12 - 2023-18:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“We may also change this EULA from time to time but those changes will only be effective to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you only use the Game in single player mode and don‘t use the updates we make available then the old EULA applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new EULA will apply. In that case we may not be able to / don‘t need to tell you about the changes for them to have effect so you should check back here from time to time so you are aware of any changes to the EULA. We‘re not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it. </blockquote>

==Lawsuit==
{{Ph-I-L}}

==See also==
* Block of access by mandatory account migration - [[Minecraft account migration]]
* [[Minecraft enforceing undisclosed server EULA terms|Hidden rules regarding private servers]] - [[Shutting down of community-run Minecraft servers by Mojang]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=Suing Minecraft Because They Broke The Law & Pissed Me Off |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5RvoPQZQeM |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-16 |title=We’re Suing Minecraft in a Class Action Lawsuit |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UF_4gZclI |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref>
* Chat moderation enforcement on private servers and single player mode resulting in unexpected loss of license
* DRM spiked launcher updates - [[Minecraft Beta pre-1.8's lack of authentication]]
* [[Post-purchase EULA modification|Post-purchase retroactive EULA modofication]]
* [[:Category:Feature Ransom|Feature ransom]]
* [[Forced arbitration]]
* [[:Category:License Laundering|License laundering]] - [[License euthanasia]]
* [[:Category:Rights Stripping|Rights Stripping]]
* [[False advertising|False advertisement]]
* Mass personal information acquisition by tech-giant from indie developer with 100 million active users

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Ph-I-C}}

[[Category:Microsoft]]
[[Category:Minecraft]]
[[Category:Mojang]]

Minecraft post-purchase ownership rights changes

2025-08-18T19:31:54Z

RuefulSeraph: Keith said it would be a good idea to turn the "related concerns" section into a standard See also section. Turned ordered list into unordered list because that's the standard

{{IncidentCargo
|Company=Mojang, Microsoft
|StartDate=2009-05-19
|Status=Active
|ProductLine=Minecraft
|Product=Minecraft Java Edition
|ArticleType=Product
|Type=Terms of Service
|Description=A game first sold as a DRM-fee product, slowly became a license to a service.
}}[[wikipedia:Minecraft#:~:text=The%20first%20public%20alpha%20build|Minecraft Alpha]] was published and sold by a small developer, advocating for consumer ownership, promising [[Digital Rights Management(DRM)|Digital Rights Management (DRM)]]-free software<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2011-09-23 |title=Minecraft - About the game |url=http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923112156/http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |archive-date=2011-09-23 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref>, free optional updates, and a free copy of the fully released version for every earlier buyer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2011-09-23 |title=Minecraft Terms of Use |url=http://www.minecraft.net/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923135753/http://www.minecraft.net/terms |archive-date=2011-09-23 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref>

After years of changes in the title and content of the terms of use, all the previous buyers who failed to stop accepting updates in time, had to choose between forfeiting the ownership or losing the option to use the software offline.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Minecraft account migration |url=https://consumerrights.wiki/Minecraft_account_migration |url-status=live |access-date= |website=Consumer Rights Wiki}}</ref> The product became a license with DRM that can be terminated at anytime by [[Microsoft]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-30 |title=Microsoft Services Agreement |url=https://www.microsoft.com/servicesagreement |url-status= |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=microsoft.com}}</ref>

The user side of legal contract to use Minecraft at the 2011 full release is called ''“Terms of use” (TOU)''<ref name=":0" /> ,later ''“End-user license agreement” (EULA)'',<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Minecraft EULA |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula |url-status=live |website=minecraft.net}}</ref> and the changes it went through since 2011, can imply most of the existing [[:Category:Anti-Consumer Practices|anti-consumer practices]], not just consumer ownership rights erosion.

Note: this article focuses on the original Minecraft: Java edition, and is not relevant to other versions of Minecraft.

==Background==
===[[Mojang|Mojang Studios]]===
Minecraft is a sandbox game developed and published by Mojang Studios. Formally released on 18 November 2011 for PCs, following its initial public alpha release on 17 May 2009. The first sold version is later designated as Java edition.

The game was downloaded more than 100 million times before Microsoft purchased Mojang AB.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-15 |title=Minecraft sold: Microsoft buys Mojang for $2.5bn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426211234/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |archive-date=2025-04-26 |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

===[[Microsoft]]===
<blockquote>In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion.

Minecraft as a multi-platform game is the best-selling video game of all time, with over 350 million copies sold (as of 2025) and 140 million monthly active players (as of 2021)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Wikipedia - Minecraft |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft |url-status=live |website=Wikipedia}}</ref></blockquote>

===Source clarification:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2013-01-13 |title=Mojang Terms and Conditions |url=https://account.mojang.com/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827123036/https://account.mojang.com/terms#eula |archive-date=2013-08-27 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2010-12-20 |title=copyright.jsp |url=http://www.minecraft.net/copyright.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221093644/http://www.minecraft.net:80/copyright.jsp |archive-date=2010-12-21 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=support.jsp |url=http://www.minecraft.net/support.js |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725180118/http://www.minecraft.net/support.jsp |archive-date=2010-07-25 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref>===

*Minecraft’s TOU/EULA was published as a page on the publisher’s game store site and as a text file in the game directory.
*Earlier verifiable versions of the TOU/ EULA are only available on archived versions of Minecraft’s website, but there were times when multiple TOU/EULA versions were available simultaneously. Exact dates of changes may vary, and the sources should respectively be the earliest or the latest found versions. These changes were mainly announced to the customer upon downloading and installing an update.
*The .txt file changes containing the TOU/EULA, that were downloaded and agreed to by the users with software updates, mostly exist in non-verifiable user directories.
*Minecraft has many versions, editions, websites, shops, on multiple platforms, with two account migrations, with corresponding terms. All changing throughout the years, as in content, in place of publication, and in the usage of dating or version history

===2009-2011 Ownership in Minecraft Alpha and Beta===
The first public version was Java Edition Classic 0.0.11a, an unfinished single player offline usable game, with early codes for multiplayer, and with a separate launcher that was capable of updating the game and the launcher itself.

While under development and before the creation of the TOU, mojang had published its term in support.jsp<ref name=":4" /> or copyright.jsp.<ref name=":3" />

==Timeline of ownership-relevant TOU/EULA changes (2011-2025)==

===2011-09-23 Ownership terms in full release of Minecraft 1.0.0===

====Online store product page information about the software before TOU agreement 2011-09-13 - 2012-08-18:<ref name=":2" />====
<blockquote>Purchase Minecraft

(...)

Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM.</blockquote>

====TOU for Minecraft 1.0.0<ref name=":0" />====
The game is in development, but the developer promises free copy of the full game - only before 2013-12<blockquote>What You Get For Purchasing When you purchase Minecraft you do so as is, be it in the early stages of development or already fully released. Subsequent updates are only an added bonus and not a guarantee, as icing on a cake. Purchases during the development of the game are discounted and include the full game upon release.</blockquote>The buyer of the software can use the software<blockquote>USING OUR GAME

You have bought the game so you can use it, yourself, on your computer.</blockquote>Publisher can change the TOU
<blockquote>We reserve the right to change this agreement at any time with or without notice, with immediate and/or retroactive effect. </blockquote>

===2011-2014 Ownership changes in TOU before Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios===

====2012-10-11 The new account.mojang.com site arrives with a set of its own terms<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-06-29 |title=Mojang Terms and Conditions |url=https://account.mojang.com/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011213958/https://account.mojang.com/terms |archive-date=2012-10-11 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref>====
<blockquote>These terms and conditions incorporates the terms of use for the mojang.com webite, our end user license agreement, our brand and asset usage guidelines, and our privacy policy.</blockquote>These contain parts of the older TOU, but new parts worded for the new accounts and the new website appear. The minectaft.net/terms page with the TOU is also available from the store page until 2013-12-04.<ref name=":8" />

====2013-12-12 The TOU fully merges into the EULA of account.mojang.com with the end of minecraft.net/terms<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=2013-12-04 |title=Minecraft Terms of Use |url=https://minecraft.net/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204204127/https://minecraft.net/terms |archive-date=2013-12-04 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref><ref name=":7" />====
Publisher can revoke permission to use the software<blockquote>The permission we give you to use and play our Game can be revoked if you break the terms of this EULA. </blockquote>

====Publisher is the owner of the software====
<blockquote>OWNERSHIP OF OUR GAME AND OTHER THINGS

Although we give you permission to play our Game, we are still the owners of it. We are also the owners of our brands and any content contained in the Game. Therefore, when you pay for our Game, you are buying a permission to play / use our Game in accordance with this EULA - you are not buying the Game itself. The only permissions you have in connection with the Game are the permissions set out in this EULA.</blockquote>

====The users can avoid accepting Eula changes by not accepting software updates====
<blockquote>We may also change this EULA from time to time but those changes will only be effective to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you only use the Game in single player mode and don‘t use the updates we make available then the old EULA applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new EULA will apply. In that case we may not be able to / don‘t need to tell you about the changes for them to have effect so you should check back here from time to time so you are aware of any changes to the EULA. We‘re not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it. </blockquote>

===2014- Ownership in EULA After Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios===

====2015-10-27 The subject of the transaction changes from "bought the game" to "have been granted a license to play the game"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-10-27 |title=account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url=https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027155030/https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |archive-date=2015-10-27 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref>====
<blockquote>USING OUR GAME

You have been granted a license to the Game so you can play and use it, yourself, on your devices.</blockquote>

====2020-10 - 2022-08 Mandatory [[Minecraft account migration|account migration]] from Mojang account to Microsoft account with new EULA<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-15 |title=account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url=https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715120420/https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula |archive-date=2019-07-15 |website=account.mojang.com}}</ref>====
Buyers who failed to migrate, but kept their launcher up to date, lost their access to the software.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-08 |title=I DIDN’T Migrate my Minecraft Account - Here’s What Happened |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUFDRAEducI |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref>

Microsoft Services Agreement also included in minecrafts’ EULA:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-16 |title=Minecraft Community Standards |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/community-standards |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716182927/https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/community-standards |archive-date=2019-07-16 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref>

<blockquote>b. The software is licensed, not sold, and Microsoft reserves all rights to the software not expressly granted by Microsoft, whether by implication, estoppel, or otherwise.</blockquote><blockquote>The application is licensed, not sold. This agreement only gives you some rights to use the application. If Microsoft disables the ability to use the applications on your devices pursuant to your agreement with Microsoft, any associated license rights will terminate.</blockquote>

====2023-08-02 Removed the information about the option of users avoiding EULA changes by not accepting updates<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-02 |title=minecraft.net/en-us/eula |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802210823/https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula |archive-date=2023-08-02 |website=minecraft.net}}</ref>====
<blockquote>We may change this EULA from time to time, if we have reason to, such as changes to our games, our practices, or our legal obligation. But those changes will be effective only to the extent that they can legally apply. In that case we'll inform you of the change before it takes effect, either by posting a notice on our website or by other reasonable means. We're not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the game and we therefore need to put a lid on it.</blockquote>

==Numbers of affected users==

===Estimated minimum number of Minecraft Java edition copies sold before ownership changes in the TOU/EULA:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-24 |title=minecraft.net/stats |url=http://www.minecraft.net/stats |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724055823/http://www.minecraft.net/stats |archive-date=2012-07-24 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref>===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Date of change
!Copies sold
!Version
!TOU/EULA change
|-
|2012-08
|~ 5million
|
|while the product page states: “Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM”
|-
|2013-06
|~ 10.2million
|
|before launcher software first includes DRM
|-
|2013-12
|~ 13million
|
|while early customers were promised a full version, and before first mention of permission revocation right of the publisher
|-
|2015-10
|~ 20 million
|
|before the subject of the transaction changes from "bought the game" to "have been granted a license to play the game"
|-
|2016-05
|~ 23 million
|
|before Microsoft becomes the owner of Mojang<ref name=":9" />
|-
|2020-10
|~ 33 milion
|
|before EULA includes Microsoft Services Agreement
|}

==Mojang's response==
Reasoning for the publishers right to retroactively change the ownership of the game is the same as for all other retroactiive TOU/EULA changes:

The publisher reserved these rights by stateing the reservation in the TOU/EULA:

in the first terms:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>“We reserve the right to change this agreement at any time with or without notice, with immediate and/or retroactive effect.”</blockquote>since 2013-08-27:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“The permission we give you to use and play our Game can be revoked if you break the terms of this EULA. “ </blockquote>2013-12 - 2023-18:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“We may also change this EULA from time to time but those changes will only be effective to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you only use the Game in single player mode and don‘t use the updates we make available then the old EULA applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new EULA will apply. In that case we may not be able to / don‘t need to tell you about the changes for them to have effect so you should check back here from time to time so you are aware of any changes to the EULA. We‘re not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it. </blockquote>

==Lawsuit==
{{Ph-I-L}}

==See also==
* Block of access by mandatory account migration - [[Minecraft account migration]]
* [[Minecraft enforceing undisclosed server EULA terms|Hidden rules regarding private servers]] - [[Shutting down of community-run Minecraft servers by Mojang]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=Suing Minecraft Because They Broke The Law & Pissed Me Off |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5RvoPQZQeM |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-16 |title=We’re Suing Minecraft in a Class Action Lawsuit |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UF_4gZclI |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref>
* Chat moderation enforcement on private servers and single player mode resulting in unexpected loss of license
* DRM spiked launcher updates - [[Minecraft Beta pre-1.8's lack of authentication]]
* [[Post-purchase EULA modification|Post-purchase retroactive EULA modofication]]
* [[:Category:Feature Ransom|Feature ransom]]
* [[Forced arbitration]]
* [[:Category:License Laundering|License laundering]] - [[License euthanasia]]
* [[:Category:Rights Stripping|Rights Stripping]]
* [[False advertising|False advertisement]]
* Mass personal information acquisition by tech-giant from indie developer with 100 million active users

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Ph-I-C}}