Researchers warn of popular game platform Roblox: « Still not safe for children »

Roblox is an online game system on which you can design virtual worlds and games and share it with other players. In 2024, Roblox had more than 85 million daily users worldwide. The majority is a minor and 40% would be younger than 13 years. The game is also very popular in Flanders.

Analysts from the British research agency Revealing Reality created on Roblox accounts with different ages to test which virtual worlds had their Avatars access and how they could communicate with each other. The platform was already under fire and introduced several safety measures. Nevertheless, the report now concludes that if you only relate to those measures, your children leave vulnerable on the platform. For example, a new user should not prove his age and the institutions of parental supervision are also not transparent.

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The millions of different virtual spaces are subject to a viewing guide with which parents can limit access, but it is not very robust. For example, a 10-year profile of the researchers with only access to ‘mild’ content was able to enter into « very suggestive environments ». They found examples such as a nightclub, a hotel room in which Avatars in lingerie lay on top of each other or a public toilet in which players urinated in fetishist outfits.

Uncontrolled chat

Since last year, accounts under the age of 13 can no longer chat directly with other players. But within the general chat box and the virtual worlds, or ‘experiences’ as Roblox calls them, this remains possible. An account of a five -year -old, the youngest possible age, can therefore freely chat with other players of all ages in games.

To protect personal data from minors, direct entries from social media such as Instagram or Snapchat are automatically censored, but that the gamers quickly circumvent by, for example, using ‘1n Sta’ or ‘s Nap’. The same applies to inappropriate language.

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To gain access to the ‘VoiceChat’, users must be at least thirteen years old and confirm their identity via a telephone number. An AI system must also filter violent or sexual language. Nevertheless, the researchers were able to take care of sexually tinted conversations between other players with moan and kiss sounds.

In a statement on the British newspaper, Roblox stated: « No security system on this scale is perfect, but we continue to work tirelessly to improve our systems, processes and policy. » Earlier, CEO Dave Baszucki had advised parents not to leave their children on the platform if they are very worried about it.