This piece may contain instances of moderate triggers. Please proceed with caution if you are sensitive to these topics. If you believe you or a loved one is at risk, feel free to call or text the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
TW: Child Sexual Abuse
Roblox once claimed to be the safest online platform for children, with millions logging in every day. However, they have recently been under fire for sending a cease-and-desist letter to YouTuber Schlep, who dedicates his time to catching predators on the platform and protecting children. Schlep and his team have successfully identified and arrested 6 individuals. So why would Roblox ban a man actively trying to make the game safer? This case is being taken to the courts, with many powerful and popular figures on Schlep’s side.
Roblox claimed that Schlep violated their terms and policies and classified him as a vigilante.
“Taking the law into your hands isn’t safe in the real world, and it’s not safe online. That’s why we work with law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable,” Roblox’s CEO David Baszuki said.
He also said that Schlep was impersonating a child online, trying to seek out predators and luring them into conversations outside of the platform.
But here’s Schlep’s defense: you have to pretend to be a child for the predator to initiate a conversation. Without the decoy, a real, unknown child could’ve been approached and abducted. And Schlep’s decoy account is never the initiator–after making six arrests, every adult approached the decoy first and prompted the “underage” user to communicate through another platform, such as Discord. Schlep also worked with local authorities to catch these bad actors and make sure they were jailed.
After every arrest, Schlep would report the pedophile’s account to Roblox, prompting them to ban it. Even so, Roblox never took action against them, even when presented with evidence like chat logs and a photo of a suspect’s arrest.
“It [was] crazy that Roblox would ban someone doing good for the community. I’ve watched a lot of Schlep’s videos, and I don’t think he violates the community guidelines. The predators send tons of disgusting messages and images to the decoy, and Schlep sends that evidence to Roblox; they rarely do anything, and end up banning him instead,” said sophomore Alexander Wang.
TW:
Schlep himself was groomed as a child by a developer that Roblox actively paid and promoted. When his mom reached out to the company, Roblox didn’t care and continued to support the predator for years, and he was eventually banned for a different reason. Cases like these have hurt individuals, and Schlep took it as motivation to ensure the same didn’t happen to others in the future.
Since the news of Schlep’s ban, numerous lawsuits have been filed against the app, including the state of Louisiana suing it for child endangerment issues. Turkey, Qatar, and Kuwait have banned the game for the same reasons.
Roblox content creators have also been speaking out. So far, nine high-profile YouTubers, including KreekCraft and ThinkNoodles, both with 12 million subscribers, have left Roblox’s Video Stars (a program where Roblox partners with creators to give them benefits) due to the current situation. The program was made for creators who wanted to “elevate their partnership” with the company, and all these departures leave the future of Roblox uncertain.
Schlep is also working with Chris Hansen, known for his reality show To Catch a Predator, to make a documentary about the dangers of the game. The most famous lawyer on YouTube with nearly 15 million subscribers, Michael L. Mandell (Law by Mike), is planning on suing Roblox for failing to protect children.
So, is Roblox really a safe platform? It claims that its moderators and chat filter maintain a safe environment, and any violation of its policy will result in a ban. However, it has left games on its platform known for hosting inappropriate content. One example is MeepCity, where players were known to host “parties” in the game and allegedly used it to expose inappropriate content to children. The developer also added content like beds and poles, features people believed would be used with bad intentions. “Public Shower Hangouts” and nightclub games have also been on the game’s page, left untouched by the moderation team.
Worst of all, abductions have happened from kids meeting a predator on the app.
“I’ve been playing Roblox since I was a kid, and their moderation is honestly pretty bad,” said sophomore Ethan Escala. “They ban people for saying stuff like ‘pay-to-win,’ but won’t ban these types of bad people.”
Roblox’s team attempted to mitigate the backlash with some new changes, including improved chat moderation and stricter restrictions on game content. It restricted inappropriate games to 17+, a highly controversial decision, as many believe they should be removed from the game entirely. In addition, Roblox created a community safety council to try to improve the game’s conditions.
It’s only a matter of time before the success of these actions can be measured.
