Among them was Anika Wells, who had described the platform as “disturbing” after seeing how children could easily bypass the platform’s security to access sexual content as well as experiences that promoted suicide and self-harm. Developers and players alike began revolting and demanding the platform to revert the update while also claiming that the system fails to tackle the flood of predators using the platform by having the system make it easier for them to target children. Chat on the platform is further limited to users in or near the specified age groups, with exceptions for “trusted connections”, and is disabled by default for players under 9 years old unless overridden by an age-verified parent. In August 2025, Roblox announced that social hangout games featuring private spaces, such as bedrooms or bathrooms, would only be accessible to users who have verified they are at least 17 years old through government-issued ID. On November 6, 2024, Roblox made an announcement to their developer forum that “social hangouts”, specifically experiences meant for socialization rather than playing games, and games that allowed for users to draw on 2D canvases would no longer be allowed for users under 13.
All participants confirmed they are active players participating in online multiplayer games. Conversely, players are willing to spend more in games that feel safe – one analysis found gamers spend 54% more on titles they perceive as “non-toxic”. If platforms clearly enforce rules against harassment, players will reward them with loyalty, more engagement, and increased spending.
GameSafe monitors your child’s game chats, alerting you to threats in real-time. The new Besedo report highlights the effects of fraud and poor content quality on online marketplaces. Every unchecked bigoted rant or sexist attack might drive away dozens of other players, shrinking the total user pool and revenue potential in the long run. Players spend 54% more on games they perceive as safe and non-toxic. We’ve built solutions that help platforms detect and prevent this kind of content before it becomes problematic.” User-generated content is a huge competitive advantage.
Child safety on Roblox
A common criticism in regard to child safety on Roblox is the proliferation of games that depict sex clubs (usually termed “condo games” or “scented cons”) that facilitate virtual sexual roleplay between users and how easily accessible they are to underage players. In September 2025, Algerian authorities banned the game, citing that the company did not have sufficient tools and capacity to protect children, where the vast majority of Algerian users were under the age of 10 and were being exposed to sexual harassment and inappropriate content on the platform. The ESRB’s primary mission is to help parents make informed decisions about the video games and apps their children play. Video game rating systems are designed to help players and parents make informed decisions about the games they choose for themselves or their children. While some communities place age limits to prevent users from joining, applications obtained by Rolling Stone for players to “work” in adjacent sexual games on the platform showed that the large majority of users in these communities were under 15. The appropriate age for online gaming varies by child and game content, but generally, most experts suggest waiting until around age 7-8 for limited, supervised online play.
Every child is different, so consider their maturity and understanding of online safety when making this decision. How can I monitor my child’s messages in gaming chats? What are the most important parental control settings for safe online gaming? Without limits, gaming can become all-consuming, especially for children prone to hyper-focus. If your child uses voice chat, encourage them to play using speakers rather than headphones. Encourage your child to use unique, anonymous usernames and avoid using the same one across multiple platforms to prevent linking their identity across different services.
Strengthening Our Commitments to Accessibility and Inclusion
People may act differently IRL than they do online. Avoid sharing personal or private information online, including when creating your EA ID. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.
Financial exploitation
- In October 2025, the Lebanese Association for Statistics, Training, and Development urged the Lebanese government to ban the video game following reports that 30% of minors in the country could be exposed to inappropriate content.
- The games featured on Roblox vary in genre, from role-playing games to ones centered around escaping prison, among others.
- In April 2022, Truth in Advertising filed a complaint against Roblox with the Federal Trade Commission for false advertising, mainly failing to disclose when advertising is present, such as with advergames and brand ambassadors.
- Many platforms, like Discord and Roblox, have parental controls or notification settings for monitoring direct messages.
- These gender differences are important because they show how targeted harassment can dramatically impact player retention and brand reputation.
Between September and December 2025, authorities in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul informed parents that the platform was being used by pedophile networks to solicit sexual and self-harm videos from minors in exchange for Robux in cities in southern Brazil. In August 2025, the Defensoría del Pueblo de la Provincia de Catamarca informed parents in the Argentine province that the platform’s security was insufficient to protect minors and that in recent years cases of sexual harassment of minors were becoming more frequent in the province thanks to Roblox. The Division of Cybercrime of the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC) was the first Venezuelan government organization to issue a national statement warning that the platform was not safe and that parents should monitor their children’s chats. The Netherlands and Belgium have restricted certain games on the platform due to their regulations on in-game “loot boxes”, which give out items based on random or unknown chances, to reduce children’s exposure to gambling. In the same month, Janybek Amatov, a member of the Kyrgyz parliament, raised restrictions on games marketed to children, such as Roblox and Minecraft, following the presence of pedophiles.
GameSafe App Features
The company’s actions were met with major backlash from many online communities who viewed Schlep’s actions as necessary for community policing. This has also prompted multiple Roblox-affiliated content creators of the Roblox Video Stars Program to leave the platform as protest. Roblox Corporation’s letter stated that the activities of Schlep and other vigilante streamers were a violation of the platform’s terms of service and created an unsafe environment for users. In August 2025, Roblox Corporation issued a cease-and-desist letter to Schlep, a YouTuber prominent for conducting sting operations against alleged online predators via the platform, which has resulted in multiple arrests.
Moderation and safety updates
The platform implemented a rehaul of its friend system with age verification through facial recognition or through a government-issued ID. Roblox Corporation has responded to some concerns by launching updates intended to boost child safety, and it employs about 3,000 moderators. Concerns include exposure to sexual content, sexual predation, political extremism, and financial exploitation, which have led to some countries banning the platform. We detect manipulative behaviors by perpetrators to exploit children, often through shared interests.
While Roblox is free-to-play, it features a virtual currency known as “Robux” that can be purchased with real-world money. We’re passionate about making sure it’s a super safe environment for kids to play and enjoy themselves. We watch for any act of targeting, or verbally attacking or intimidating your child. See all your child’s activity in one place. “GameSafe is a parent’s best friend in the digital age.”
Roblox’s business model has been heavily criticized, with the platform being accused of featuring exploitative practices that target children; Professor Jane Juffer at Cornell University accused Roblox of encouraging consumerism in children. American television journalist Chris Hansen, known for the television show To Catch a Predator, said in August 2025 that he was producing a documentary film about the state of child safety on the Roblox platform, and that he had interviewed law enforcement, abuse victims, and Schlep for the project. Court documents show that the lawsuit was settled after Simon agreed to pay the Roblox Corporation $150,000 and a permanent ban from the game, notably not establishing a legal precedent for IP bans from the platform.
Online Gaming Safety for Kids – Essential Tips for Parents
- Games downloaded from shady sources can contain harmful content or malware, so stick to platforms that provide clear content ratings and descriptions.
- The developer would later be sentenced to 15 years in prison for paying an Uber driver to drive a 15-year-old child from Indiana to his home state of New Jersey for sex.
- AI can also adapt to evolving language, subcultures, and slang much better than rule-based systems.”
- This announcement was met with major backlash from parents, creators, safety advocates, and many online communities who feared it would put children at a greater risk.
- We guard against gamers attempting to move the conversation away from the protected gaming platform to discord or other messaging apps.
Hindenburg Research cited a similar game, Public Bathroom Simulator Vibe, as one of the reasons Roblox is an “X-rated pedophile hellscape”. He stated in July 2025 that Roblox could serve as an effective online dating platform and cubet that it could help lonely people meet in real life. Roblox has rejected claims made by these organizations, alleging that they were highlighting rare instances and that their promotion only served to further an agenda of causing others to sell stock. The developer would later be sentenced to 15 years in prison for paying an Uber driver to drive a 15-year-old child from Indiana to his home state of New Jersey for sex. Although his account was terminated, he transferred the game to a friend’s account and continued to make money from the game.
From content filters to limiting chat options, parental controls give you more oversight on who your child can communicate with and what they can play. Learn more about our Positive Play Charter and how to report players. FC Playtime was designed to help FC players understand and control how they play. NetSmartz is NCMEC’s online safety education program. But there’s still more to do—join us in protecting children and supporting our mission. On September 15, 2025, Oklahoma attorney general Gentner Drummond announced that he was seeking outside law firms to investigate Roblox over alleged child exploitation and safety failures.
Roblox had previously clarified to the Federal Government of São Paulo that its monetization model was not abusive and that minors had previously consented to the platform monetizing their content. Meanwhile, in 2024, the Mexico City Cyber Police and the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SCC) also reported that Roblox was being used to promote criminal activity such as the distribution of drugs and illicit substances to minors in the Mexican capital. In the same month, Sarah El Haïry, the High Commissioner for Children (Haute-commissaire à l’Enfance), publicly stated that issues such as pedophilia and sexual harassment on the platform were causing concern among French regulators. In January 2026, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) launched investigations to probe whether the platform was safe in the European Union after multiple reports and lawsuits claiming that the platform was a danger to minors. In February 2026, the Egyptian Supreme Council for Media Regulation passed a statement banning access to Roblox, with concerns being “internet and social media use among children”. In addition, members of Bahrain’s parliament also began drafting a bill to ban Roblox in the country following concerns about child safety.
The platform is made to appeal to a family-friendly audience, and has been described as a massively multiplayer online game (MMO). The games featured on Roblox vary in genre, from role-playing games to ones centered around escaping prison, among others. Games can be created by any user through the platform’s game engine, Roblox Studio, and then be shared to and played by other players.
Certain platforms let you receive alerts when your child gets direct messages from other players, allowing you to catch potential issues early. Knowing the ins and outs of the games your child plays gives you a clearer sense of the content, the people they’re interacting with, and potential risks. Most major gaming platforms have player and family or parental controls that make it easy to create and manage family accounts. When using EA’s online services, you can play, chat and, in some cases, share other content with players including friends. Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit against Roblox two days later, claiming the platform “makes children easy prey for pedophiles” and “fails to implement reasonable and readily available safety measures”. On December 18, 2025, the Attorney General of Tennessee Jonathan Skrmetti would sue Roblox for misleading parents about child safety, saying that “Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground”.
Since 1998, NCMEC has operated the CyberTipline, a place where the public and electronic service providers can report suspected online and offline child sexual exploitation. On the same day, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation for allegedly failing to protect children from exploitation. On November 6, 2025, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Roblox Corporation, alleging that the company misleadingly promoted its platform as a safe environment for children.
Additionally, Roblox has been criticized for its use of microtransactions, advergames, and brand ambassadors, as well as for the alleged financial exploitation of child game developers. Some users have taken to online vigilantism to catch potential child predators; Roblox Corporation has faced significant controversy after taking legal action against some of these users. Child exploitation groups such as 764 and CVLT have operated on Roblox to groom children, and at least 30 people have been arrested since 2018 in the United States for abducting or sexually abusing children they had groomed on the platform.
Núcleo journalists claimed that much of the platform is supported by microtransactions and uses methods to make minors addicted to online purchases to a certain extent, which can be used to abuse them. In March 2025, Roblox CEO David Baszucki said in response to concerns over child safety, “if you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox”. Sexual exploitation of minors on Roblox has been used to justify and promote the short-selling of Roblox Corporation’s stock by organizations such as The Bear Cave (which compiled a list of 16 arrests and indictments since 2020 among other instances of sexual abuse) and the investment firm Hindenburg Research. Roblox refused action towards the game, as they did not see it as a safety concern; Sonic’s owner Sega later took the game down via a copyright infringement notice after being notified. On December 13, 2021, the YouTube channel People Make Games released a video featuring an interview with an anonymous individual who maintained to be a victim of sexting with a 24-year-old Roblox game developer, who created the Sonic the Hedgehog fangame Sonic Eclipse Online, when she was 12. It cited the fact that the game hosts millions of instances of user-generated content which makes the platform difficult to classify as a whole.
