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Roblox has reportedly seen a notable increase in reported incidents of child exploitation. With 77 million daily users, over 40% under the age of 13, the platform reported over 13,000 child exploitation incidents to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 2023, which is a huge increase compared to 3,000 reports in 2022.
These findings come from an investigation by Bloomberg into the safety of the platform, calling it one "with a predator problem." They had a talk with several former employees from Roblox who had said that:
"Before 2022, Roblox didn't have automated systems in place to proactively search for grooming behavior beyond basic text filters. According to their sources, back then, the word 'grooming' didn’t even appear in the company’s moderation guide.
Eight individuals, currently or previously part of Roblox's trust and safety team, have expressed concerns that the platform's user growth is being prioritized over child safety. They alleged that requests for additional resources were ignored, leading to an accumulation of unresolved safety incident reports.
Matt Kaufman, chief safety officer at Roblox, disputed the extent of the problem, stating to Bloomberg that child endangerment is not a systemic issue on the platform. He mentioned that Roblox has been investing in child safety measures for almost two decades with the goal of creating the safest and most civil online environment, especially for the youngest users.
“As our platform evolves and scales, forging a new future for communication and connection, our investment in preventative safety measures remains fundamental. To be the best in the world at delivering safe and civil online experiences, this is essential. With each passing year, we implement new strategies and technology to achieve gains in speed and effectiveness of our safety and moderation systems."
You can check out Bloomberg's report here and Roblox's statement here. Don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
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