In response to an independent report that branded Roblox a "paedophile hellscape" for children, Roblox Corporation is introducing some new parental controls. IGN obtained a copy of an email sent to parents who manage the accounts of their children in the game, which is allegedly rife with exploitation and abuse.
Previously, the extent of control a parent was allowed over a child's account amounted to setting a PIN, preventing kids from accessing content settings, removing age and spending limits, etc. This PIN system is going away, and now parents will need to create their own account and link it to that of their child. Parents will now be able to access additional information like playtime and the child's friends list from their own devices. Users under 13 will need parental permission to use specific chat features, and users under nine will need permission to view content labelled "moderate".
Short-chasing investment firm Hindenburg Research funded the report, which, amongst a whole host of nightmares, alleges that Roblox Corp has been lying to investors and inflating user numbers. Additional parental controls are a welcome result, and shining a spotlight on the situation is good and noble work; unfortunately for Hindenburg, the report doesn't appear to have moved the needle more than a few points when it comes to Roblox stock, which has since recovered to its pre-report (8th October) state.
Did you know all this was going on in Roblox? Do you think Roblox Corp's steps go far enough? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source ign.com]
Comments 20
Well that's not a headline I expected to read...
Whatever happened to the halcyon days when we just talked about beastiality in video games.
Surely the age should be higher than 13.
The best child locks in the world will only matter if the parents care enough/bother to use them.
@NEStalgia Those sound like those were quite the days.
As much as I dislike this whole “Roblox” thing and hate seeing it. I do think it’s good it has a lot of parental controls. Not that I have children. But I feel like there just so much hands-off parenting these days…
Incredibly disgusting that action is only taken because of investors seeking a payday. Absolutely shows the moral vacuum that capitalism encourages.
I just want the ability to block specific servers so they are not visible anymore, and be able to clear play and search history. If my kid rage quits another exploitive obby that tries to charge money (obstacle course like Ninja Warrior), horribly designed by some likely bratty kid that is impossible to win it will be too soon. There's also servers with obvious rampant copyright infringement with massive amounts of mostly negative reviews and ratings. Please Roblox. You can do better. Parents need to have control over which servers their kid can visit. An allow-list would be great as an alternative to a deny-list.
The problem with Roblox isn't that there are no parental controls - my daughter has an account that has a PIN on it. She doesn't get access to any chat function, no purchasing ability outside of robux that I put on her account, and no access to any content that is deemed above her age range.
The problem with Roblox is that there are no checks in place when creating an account. You don't even need to register an email address and verify it. You simply select a username, setup a profile and password. Any kid with access to a browser can do that in a few minutes, without their parents knowing.
@Cypher1942 Agreed.
"Inside out murder mystery" is my most hated game right now. The "creators" won't use the rating system properly either, so this particular game slips though the age filter.
TBH, I'd much rather my daughter played GTAV than this crap.
I remember being really confused when I saw that Chucky trailer for Roblox. This game has always seem like it's just for kids but I guess the investors wanted to chase that Fortnite money. What greed does to people...
We've stopped our son playing Roblox, not because of the predatory aspect to it, luckily we never came across any of that, but because there is no point to it, it's stupid games that don't teach him anything.
Atleast when he plays Pikmin or Astrobot there is a certain level of problem solving involved but Roblox offers nothing other than trying to separate kids and money by using countless, repetitive games to do it, christ even Fortnite promotes basic levels of teamwork.
@Yusuo Not all games have to teach you something. Sometimes a game just being fun is enough. It doesn't need to be constructive in some manner.
@LifeGirl Let's be real here the most kids know more about how to use them then the parents most of the time.
@Type_Trubbish correct, but when the basis of a game is just to fleece people by using predatory tactics, it's not something I need to introduce into my kids life.
To be honest I know very little about Roblox... but it looks so damn lame in that image, like they just copied the looks of every other brand out there.
So they’re going to make it harder(easier) for a game that’s meant to be for kids(adults) to play their own way. Let’s not just ban anyone over a certain age or at this point, wipe the server and start over. Money talks and kids don’t make money.
@LifeGirl I disagree. Roblox is specifically for the kids with the parents that don't pay attention.
That's their entire business model. Ripping off the children whose parents are looking the other way. All the while not caring, at all, about the child's welfare - Roblox have no duty of care whatsoever.
It's a scummy business that preys on children. That's a cast iron fact.
So blame parents all you like... it's entirely irrelevant. Roblox would not exist if parents paid attention to it.
@LifeGirl seems to me a lot of people are just expecting these video game companies to be the parent
@LifeGirl This is the sort of logic Baszucki and the other co-owners were running on. Aware that some kids, unfortunately, have crappy parents. Doesn't mean they shouldn't be attempting to lookout for them by attempting to raise awareness of what can happen, though.
@LifeGirl ain't that the truth parents need to be more involved also nice auron picture
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