Roblox chief executive David Baszucki said that the platform prides itself on their commitment to safety and protecting its users, despite reports of bullying and grooming. However, for the parents who are worried about their kids being on the site, Baszucki stated they should just not let them use it.
After reports of bullying on grooming on the popular gaming platform Roblox, the company’s chief executive David Baszucki made a statement regarding their commitment to user safety, privacy, and protection, while giving some advice to parents who are worried about what their kids are doing online.
He told BBC News that parents who are worried about their kids playing on one of the most popular gaming platforms should not let them use it.
There have been past reports of bullying and grooming on Roblox, as well as a general fear that children are being exposed to harmful content, a common worry for parents of kids with internet access. Baszucki emphasized that Roblox is very committed to the protection of their users, stating that “tens of millions [of users] have had amazing experiences.”
“My first message would be: if you’re not comfortable don’t let your kids be on Roblox. That sounds a little counterintuitive but I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.”
“We do in the company take the attitude that any bad, even one bad, incident is one too many. We watch for bullying, we watch for harassment, we filter all of those kinds of things, and I would say behind the scenes, the analysis goes on all the way to, if necessary, reaching out to law enforcement,” Baszucki added.
Roblox is a US-based company and one of the world’s largest gaming platforms. According to reports from the Guardian, Roblox has more monthly users than both Nintendo Switch and Sony Playstation combined. Last year alone, the site had an average of 80 million users playing per day. About 40% of those users were under the age of 13.
Roblox’s terms enforce temporary time-outs, suspensions, and longer bans for players who are bullying, using explicit language, and behaving inappropriately. The company stated that they analyze all communication between members, and have utilized AI systems to more easily flag and report inappropriate behavior/language, Baszucki explained.
“We don’t condone any type of image-sharing on our own platform, and you’ll see us getting more and more, I think, way beyond where the law is on this type of behavior.”
Baszucki added that the site has intense guidelines and a “consistent policy” regarding age ratings in their many games.
Baszucki initially founded Roblox in 2004 with Erik Cassel, and they made the platform public in 2006/ Initially, the two founders ran an education software provider, but realized the children users were doing more than just homework on the site.
“They wanted to play and build stuff. They were making houses or ships or scenery, and they wanted to jump in, and all of that learning was the germination of Roblox,” Baszucki said.
Roblox itself didn’t actually make any money until the site added their own digital currency known as Robux. Players on the platform can use Robux to buy accessories for their character and unlock exclusive content within the games.
Baszucki is confident that Roblox will continue to grow and become “the future of communication.” He said when looking towards the future, he wants to continue to evolve what the platform is and create an even larger virtual world that users can fully engulf themselves in.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
