Roblox CEO addresses bullying concerns

By Jess Crighton

Considering Roblox’s CEO issuing a statement to parents regarding online bullying concerns, is it a safe space for children?

Issues raised by parents over online bullying rates on the online multiplayer game Roblox were met with a response from the sites CEO.

In an interview with the BBC, Dave Baszucki said that: “My first message would be, if you're not comfortable, don't let your kids be on Roblox."

Roblox is one of the most popular gaming platforms with children aged eight to 12. With many youngsters being naïve, it is easy for them to be virtually targeted.

In recent years there have been allegations of grooming, bullying and other harmful behaviour stemming from online interactions with other users.

The online platform has over 80 million active players per day across devices and gaming consoles. Statistics show that 42% of young players have faced bullying on the site, with 40% of users are aged under 13. Children under the age of 13 are also blocked fro messaging other players and receiving messages via the inbox feature.

However, a few years ago Roblox launched a voice chat filter available to those above the age of 13 with a verified phone number. Although the written chat is monitored, the voice chat is not, it does not stop players in real time from engaging in harmful behaviour, only giving them a warning or a discipline via email. If behaviour exceeds the player will be banned.

Baszucki also said: “I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.” In regard to parental controls and how they monitor their child’s online activity.

Should parents be more vigilant or should there be a change within Roblox? I believe there should be more safeguarding implemented into the game as players of all ages can interact. I would suggest that servers should be determined by age to allow players of a similar age to interact with each other, diminishing the possibility of grooming and other harmful behaviours.

I would also suggest that parents should keep a watchful eye on their children’s online activity and how they interact with others to prevent bullying and exposure to harmful content. This goes for internet access as a whole and not just roblox.

Parents should also ensure that they make the most of the parental controls, disabling voice chat, screen time, games, in game transactions and a whole array of others.

We are in the digital age, and games developers and creators should ensure the safety of their players, and parents should be more aware of what their child is up to on the internet.