Boss’ online safety advice for children sparks debate

“If you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox”: with that advice in an exclusive BBC interview, the hugely popular gaming platform’s CEO Dave Baszucki ignited a fierce debate among parents.

Mr Baszucki also stressed the company took protecting its users extremely seriously and pointed out that “tens of millions” of people have “amazing experiences” on what is the UK’s most popular gaming site for children aged eight to 12.

Hundreds of people got in touch with the BBC after reading his comments: many said parents needed to take more responsibility, or highlighted how safe and enjoyable Roblox was for their children.

Others painted a much darker picture – accusations of grooming, addiction and a company that failed to respond to their concerns.

Here are some of their stories. The BBC has changed some names to protect the identities of young people.

For Amir, from Leeds, Mr Baszucki’s comments were “ridiculous”, and the course of action he suggested was “much easier said than done”.

“Roblox is ruining my son”, he told the BBC – and he feels powerless to stop it.

A user since he was eight or nine, he says the 15-year-old is “addicted” and can now use the site for up to 14 hours a day.

“He is a single child and both parents are so busy working. I feel guilty we haven’t been able to give him quality time. That’s been robbed by Roblox,” Amir told the BBC.

The son’s account is linked to the father’s email address, and Amir has received “hundreds” of emails over the years from Roblox about the violation of the ‘terms of use’.

He says his son has been given temporary bans, but finds a way to play on – using multiple accounts and the accounts of others.

Amir hopes he can reduce his son’s time on the platform by “playing cards, talking and watching YouTube together” rather than forcing him off the platform completely.

In response, Roblox highlighted to BBC News the screen time limit feature on the platform that gives parents the ability to restrict the amount of time children are allowed to spend on Roblox each day.

Sally, from the north of Scotland, told the BBC she “fully takes responsibility” as a parent – but questioned whether Roblox was doing the same.

She told the BBC her nine-year-old daughter was being groomed on Roblox and – despite reporting it to the platform – did not get a response, leaving her “enraged”.

The mother said last December her child was chatting to someone in a game where you can “mimic real life”. This user coerced her child to role play “marriage”. They told the girl they were touching themselves, and asked Sally’s daughter to touch herself and take a photo.

They offered Roblox’s in-game currency in exchange for the picture. The child didn’t do it, and told her mother days later.

“When she approached me, it was with a lot of tears, and feeling very, very shameful with what had happened. I assured my child that it’s not their fault that they have done everything correct – to tell me.

“This is unacceptable for a platform that’s advertised towards young children. It seems like the company isn’t taking any responsibility and clearly their filters are not working.”

Sally said companies that created platforms should be liable for any issues with them, rather than telling its users “‘well, don’t use it’.”

In his BBC interview, Mr Baszucki said building a “trust and safety system” had been an important part of Roblox ever since it launched.

He added: “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.”

He said he remained confident in Roblox’s safety tools and insisted the firm went above and beyond to keep its users safe.

Roblox also says it analyses all communications that pass between members on the platform, increasingly using more advanced AI systems and other tech to do so – and anything flagged is sent for further investigation.

It stressed to BBC News that users cannot share images with each other on the platform.

Concerns about children being exposed to sexual content on Roblox have been aired before.

In November last year, under 13s were banned on the platform from sending direct messages, and also from playing in “hangout experiences” which features chat between players. Other parental controls were also introduced.

Many people have also contacted the BBC to endorse what the Roblox CEO said.

Kathryn Foley said she was “impressed” with Mr Baszuki’s “honesty” in his interview, and highlighted ongoing conversations she has with her nine-year-old daughter, Helene, about the platform.

Helene is a big fan of the animal game Adopt Me.

“I would say on the whole the Roblox experience has been a very positive one with Adopt Me being a very kind and safe place for her to have fun with her friends,” Kathryn said.

Meanwhile, Kirsty Solman spoke to the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2 about her 13-year-old son Kyle, who has ADHD, autism and severe anxiety.

“He really struggles with social interactions and small talk. Being on Roblox and other gaming platforms, he is then able to play with his classmates.

“That stress and anxiety is taken away, and he has ended up with a really good group of friends.”

Kirsty said she spoke to her son about online safety and checks his devices every day.

Phil from London agreed parents needed to take the initiative when it came to online safety.

“There is a danger in thinking the internet is a crèche,” he commented on the BBC website.