Roblox CEO David Baszucki responds to criticism over online security, saying it’s an industry-wide problem.
This story is about suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Efforts to protect children from harmful content and predators online continue to grow, as regulators and lawmakers say companies – from social networks to gaming platforms – have failed to protect minors from harassment, exploitation and exposure to inappropriate material.
The debate has sparked a wave of lawsuits from parents and attorneys general who say tech companies haven’t done enough to keep children safe online. A company at the center of several of these lawsuits: Roblox.
“Some of these statements we categorically reject. But at the same time, we are all united in keeping children safe,” David Baszucki, CEO of Roblox, told FOX Business. “Everyone wants kids to be safe.”
David Baszucki is the founder and CEO of Roblox. (Ian Tuttle/Getty Images for Roblox)
Baszucki has not admitted wrongdoing. He argued that the issue of child safety online extends well beyond the Roblox platform.
“We think it’s an industry problem,” Baszucki said, adding that many parents “don’t know that their youngest child has access not only to Roblox, but to many apps where you can share pictures, where you can text freely.”
Yet Roblox, in particular, has been named in several lawsuits alleging that the platform is an environment in which predators could target vulnerable children.
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The platform allows users to play and create games, often called “experiences,” and is open to children of all ages. In total, the company has 111.8 million daily active users. About 39.7 million of them are under the age of 13, although Roblox’s website says the company has stricter privacy settings for them. For example, access to certain features will be restricted in the interest of protecting their personal information, according to the website, which emphasizes that the company is “particularly committed to protecting the privacy of children.”
| Teleprinter | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
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| RBLX | ROBLOX CORP. | 118.67 | -15.07 |
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Louisiana sues online gaming platform Roblox for allegedly enabling child predators
A Kentucky mother filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Kentucky last week on behalf of her 13-year-old daughter who she says committed suicide after months of manipulation and extremist grooming on the gaming platform Roblox and messaging app Discord.
A California mother filed a lawsuit against Roblox and Discord in September, alleging that her 15-year-old autistic son, who died by suicide, was groomed and abused on the platforms when he was just 12 years old. In that lawsuit, the mother alleged that her son was targeted by an adult sexual predator who was able to use Roblox to pose as a child and befriend her son. The predator then encouraged the 15-year-old to turn off parental controls and move the conversation to Discord, where he coerced the teen into sharing explicit images.
David Baszucki, founder and CEO of Roblox, speaks at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Tech Live conference in Laguna Beach, California, October 16, 2023. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
FOX Business has reached out to Discord for comment.
A Roblox spokesperson said the company was deeply saddened by the incident, but stressed that the platform does not allow users to share images or videos and that none of the images involved were shared on the platform.
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States are also taking action. Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched a criminal investigation into Roblox, calling the platform a “breeding ground” for predators.
Roblox argued that Uthmeier’s claims about Roblox were false and said the suggestion that illicit image sharing occurs on the platform “demonstrates a lack of understanding of the functionality of our platform.”
Kentucky has filed a civil suit against Roblox, alleging the massive gaming platform is unsafe for children. Attorney General Russell Coleman alleged in the lawsuit filed in Kentucky Circuit Court that Roblox had insufficient safeguards for children and therefore exposed them to child predators, violence and sexually explicit material.
A girl uses a smartphone on which the Roblox application is visible on November 20, 2024. (Marijan Murat/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
Baszucki said the company implemented text filtering on all communications, preventing users from sharing images such as selfies and monitoring for critical damage. When the company detects bad actors, Baszucki said it works with law enforcement to remove them from the platform.
“Last year, we brought our customers and all Roblox users over a hundred new security innovations,” Baszucki said. “We’re already continually innovating. We think age estimation is the next phase.”
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Roblox announced in September a plan to expand age estimation to all Roblox users who access communication features on the platform by the end of this year using facial age estimation technology, ID age verification, and verified parental consent. This process, according to Roblox, “will provide a more accurate measurement of a user’s age than simply relying on what someone types when creating an account.”
Baszucki believes this will “set the standard” for the industry, allowing the company to better control who communicates with whom on the platform.
“We think there’s a great opportunity to work with the attorneys general and really lead the industry in what we think is really an issue for the industry,” he added.
The company has partnered with the Attorney General’s Alliance to create a new initiative, called Youth Online Safety, dedicated to strengthening children’s online safety.
