Roblox: Difference between revisions

==Incidents==

Throughout the 2020s, Roblox has faced several controversies regarding child safety, including a lawsuit in 2020 over how the platform had allowed two adults to harass a 10-year-old girl, causing her mental health to deteriorate so badly that she resorted to suicide, according to her parents' testimony.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dorsey |first=Edwin |date=2025-08-15 |title=This list is the tip of the iceberg. So many cases go unreported, undetected, or contribute to the deaths of children. Below is one lawsuit in which a 10-year-old girl claimed abuse through Roblox. |url=https://x.com/StockJabber/status/1956415609345851567 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/LvpiD |archive-date=22 Feb 2026 |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=Twitter}}</ref>

On 6 November 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Roblox, over child safety concerns, accusing the company of "deceiving parents about the dangers of its platform".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Iyer |first=Ram |date=2025-11-07 |title=Texas AG sues Roblox, accusing it of prioritizing ‘pixel pedophiles’ over child safety |url=https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/07/texas-ag-sues-roblox-accusing-it-of-prioritizing-pixel-pedophiles-over-child-safety/ |access-date=2025-11-07 |work=TechCrunch |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260206204009/https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/07/texas-ag-sues-roblox-accusing-it-of-prioritizing-pixel-pedophiles-over-child-safety/ |archive-date=6 Feb 2026}}</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 20%<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=22 Dec 2023 |title=Do Roblox Reports Really Work? |url=https://youtu.be/Q-s0sLZ4oJA?t=52 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=Q-s0sLZ4oJA |archive-date=26 Dec 2023}}</ref>, With the Roblox community theorizing a very low chance "Near ZERO" said in one forum<ref>{{Cite web |last=sparkling_cola |date=1 May 2024 |title=The chance of a successful appeal - NEAR ZERO |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-chance-of-a-successful-appeal-near-zero/2985866 |website=Roblox Devforum |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250903192622/https://devforum.roblox.com/t/the-chance-of-a-successful-appeal-near-zero/2985866 |archive-date=3 Sep 2025}}</ref>. even when obviously rule-violating accounts possessing usernames which were distorted versions of minor-sexualizing phrases such as "14 year old slut".<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Ruben |last2=Trav |last3=Clan |last4=DukDolan |last5=Hipsterjelly |last6=Hulkatron |last7=Victor |date=20 Dec 2023 |title=Determining the Effectiveness of Roblox Reports |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zqJJSNm2utDjFDwtIkQGo6jh3OtyYZhzpyRI-UnxQbA/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.uk35gocf0zmv |website=Google Docs |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250322154652/https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zqJJSNm2utDjFDwtIkQGo6jh3OtyYZhzpyRI-UnxQbA/edit?tab=t.0 |archive-date=22 Mar 2025}}</ref><!-- More citation please!... Only having stuff from ruben sim is sketchy -->

"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= |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |at=Romantic and Sexual Content |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260217013725/https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/15869919570708-Restricted-Content-Policy |archive-date=17 Feb 2026}}</ref>". Due to the rule-violating nature of these games and how they can harm the fanbase of Roblox (Which is overwhelmingly composed of young children<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 Jul 2025 |title=What percent of Roblox users are kids? |url=https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/what-percent-of-roblox-users-are-kids/ |website=Games Learning Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260224121406/https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/what-percent-of-roblox-users-are-kids/ |archive-date=24 Feb 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Distribution of Roblox audiences worldwide as of December 2024, by age group |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1190869/roblox-games-users-global-distribution-age/ |access-date=30 Jan 2026 |website=statista.com |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260121193151/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1190869/roblox-games-users-global-distribution-age/ |archive-date=21 Jan 2026}}</ref>'')'', they are often removed by Roblox moderation.

In 9th August, 2025, Roblox issued a Cease and Desist to Roblox predator hunting channel RealSchlep<ref>{{Cite web |author=RealSchlep |date=9 Aug 2025 |title=Schlep on X posting about his Cease and Desist |url=https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954255952997478537 |url-status= |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=X |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251211220931/https://x.com/RealSchlep/status/1954255952997478537 |archive-date=11 Dec 2025}}</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 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= |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=Roblox |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260102194729/https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/08/more-on-removal-of-vigilantes-from-roblox |archive-date=2 Jan 2026}}</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.

In 3rd September, 2025, Matt Kaufman (Roblox's Chief Safety Officer) issues an post on their blog announcing their plans to implement facial estimation in order to "provide an accurate measure of a user's age rather than relying on what they type in when creating an account"<ref>''Matt Kaufman (2025-09-03).'' [https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/09/roblox-to-expand-age-estimation-to-all-users "Roblox Announces Ambitious Plan to Expand Age Estimation to All Users"]. ''Roblox's Newsroom. Retrieved 2026-01-22.'' ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260115005623/https://corp.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/09/roblox-to-expand-age-estimation-to-all-users Archived])</ref>. Later on October, Roblox announces on their developer forum a post titled "Encouraging users to complete an age check to chat", citing a partnership with [[Persona]], which as of early 2026, is currently being sued over biometric data handling<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 Aug 2024 |title=Washington v. Persona Identities |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/court-of-appeals-third-appellate-district/2024/3-24-0210.html |website=Justia Law |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260202081813/https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/court-of-appeals-third-appellate-district/2024/3-24-0210.html |archive-date=2 Feb 2026}}</ref>. In that same post, they cite that "early next year, users will be required to be age checked to chat on Roblox".<ref>{{Cite web |last=rbitia_rbx |date=4 Oct 2025 |title=[Test] Encouraging users to complete an age check to chat |url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/test-encouraging-users-to-complete-an-age-check-to-chat/4035155 |website=Roblox Devforum |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260212134643/https://devforum.roblox.com/t/test-encouraging-users-to-complete-an-age-check-to-chat/4035155 |archive-date=12 Feb 2026}}</ref>