April 3, 2024
Mr. David Baszucki
Founder and CEO, Roblox
970 Park Place, Suite 100
San Mateo, CA 94403
Re: Roblox on 2024 Dirty Dozen List for facilitating sexual
exploitation and abuse by refusing to implement basic child safety
measures
Dear Mr. Baszucki:
We are writing to advise that Roblox has once again been named to the
National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s annual Dirty Dozen List
featuring 12 mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation and abuse.
The List will be released Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Inexplicably, despite requests from NCOSE and warnings from other
child online safety experts,
1
despite being sued for harms to children,
2
despite new stories of kidnappings
3
and sexual assault
4
due to
connections through your platform, despite pleas from thousands of
parents
5
to do better – you have not made any child safety
improvements within the past year. Instead of expanding
additional safety features and bettering moderation practices,
Roblox devoted its resources this past year to launch new features
that further endanger children. By expanding into online dating
6
(including for 17-year-olds, who are still minors) and launching
Roblox Connect without fixing existing problems,
7
you are opening up
more possibilities for predators to engage with minors in ways that will
go undetected. By doubling down to grow your adult user base, you are
prioritizing profit over child protection.
Given that the majority of your user base are children aged 15 and
under, Roblox should be the gold standard in child online safety.
You are profiting primarily from kids – yet at a time of ever-increasing
child exploitation online, you continue to refuse to implement basic,
common-sense safety and privacy measures. Why? How is it still
possible for a five-year-old to create a Roblox account and
immediately have the ability to connect with adults and to access
“experiences” like rape-themed “games”?
2
One of our researchers created an account as an 11-year-old girl on Roblox. This was her experience on
your platform within 45 minutes:
In “Boys and Girls sleepover” walked in on people simulating sex and walking around in thongs,
chat offering “I'm single,” “let's play spin the bottle,” and “let's all get to bed.”
In “The Hood” was “murdered”in various ways (i.e., shot in the head) and then stomped on and
kicked (avatar was frozen when dead, so couldn't move). Body was dropped in an alley. Saw
what looked like prostitution in the streets (avatars dressed in stereotypical prostitution dress,
other avatars – mostly male-looking – would bring what looked like “gifts” and simulate sex
acts). “Soundtrack” was gun shots and people being punched.
“Get Eaten by a Neko Girl” had sexually dressed “guards” in front of various houses (players
have to pay to get in). Note: “neko girl” is an anime girl that looks like a cat – almost always
highly sexualized.
In “Critters Roleplay” was humped by a character in a bunny costume.
In “Squid Game” – based on the graphic TV show – was trapped in a room with hooded guards
with guns.
Another researcher had an account as a 13-year-old and was asked to move to Discord to chat, asked for
pictures of her feet, and was subjected to chats such as “very lonely need girl,” “really need girl right
now,” and worse.
Even platforms that are meant for ages 13+ are creating more safety features and defaulting them for
minors, yet Roblox leaves young children to fend for themselves on a platform with 50 million
“worlds.” We would like to understand your logic for these actions, as they are suggestive of negligence.
We acknowledge that Roblox does have certain safety measures in place – however, they are primarily
accessible through your complicated parental control tools. We know – and likely you do too – that
roughly only 1 out of 3 parents use parental controls on apps.
8
You are likely leaving roughly 60%+ of
kids at risk of experiencing harmful contact and content by not implementing common-sense safety
features.
NCOSE has reached out to Roblox multiple times over the course of the past year. We have never heard
back. We are attaching our most recent email to you from our Vice President and Director of Corporate
Advocacy, as well as our 2023 Dirty Dozen List Notification Letter. We have additional evidence that
we have collected in the past few months that prove all the issues outlined and the recommended
changes in our original communications remain unchanged, with one addition:
Robux being used for child sex abuse content
We are deeply concerned about increasing reports of Roblox currency “Robux” being used to entice
children into performing sexual acts both on and off Roblox.
• A Stanford Internet Observatory report on Addressing Child Exploitation on Federated
Social Media posted this screenshot showing the type of currency children are posting for their
own, self-generated CSAM (page 8).
9
3
• Safe on Social issued an Urgent Update on Roblox and Online Safety (October 2023) warning
about children as young as 3-6 increasingly interacting with strangers on Roblox.
10
They also
noted cases of children being asked to role-play and offers of free in-game currency in exchange
for inappropriate interactions.
An article about the warning, Is Roblox safe? Safety experts don’t think so, noted “some users were
offering children money to perform sexual acts. This was done through the in-game ‘Robux’ currency.
This could include being paid Robux to play a role-playing game, such as being ‘adopted’ or lying down
on top of another avatar.”
11
While this is not something NCOSE has had the capacity to investigate in-depth so far (nor has it yet
been widely examined or catalogued by child safety experts), we will be doing so throughout 2024 and
will encourage other stakeholders to do the same. Roblox needs to investigate this immediately and
develop means to prevent the use of Robux for grooming and/or criminal activity, including receipt and
distribution of child sexual abuse material.
NCOSE – a tiny nonprofit with limited resources – has done the work that your Trust and Safety Teams
should be doing. We have collected the research and evidence that your staff should be reviewing. We
have met with the survivors, with law enforcement, with experts that your team should be consulting.
Yet you have repeatedly refused our offers to meet and to connect you with other professionals in the
child online safety space.
There can be no more excuses for keeping countless children at risk of being accessed by predators and
exposed to harmful content. You have been put on notice of these harms and cannot claim ignorance.
Though we are deeply disappointed that Roblox continues to turn away from evidence of exploitation on
your platform, we are heartened that an increasing number of policymakers, child online safety
advocates, and parents are starting to understand the many dangers Roblox poses to your majority minor
user base. We anticipate that attention on Roblox’s failures to act will only increase. NCOSE commits to
increasing our spotlight on your failures with policymakers, the press, and the public (with parents in
4
particular) to ensure that if Roblox does not voluntarily do what is right, that it is held accountable for
the harms it knowingly continues to facilitate and enable – and from which Roblox is likely profiting.
Thank you for your attention,
Dawn Hawkins Kindsey P. Chadwick
CEO Interim President
Cc:
Manuel Bronstein, Chief Product Officer
Matt Kaufman, Chief Safety Officer
Daniel Sturman, Chief Technology Officer
Mark Reinstra, General Counsel
Attached:
• 11/16/23 email from NCOSE Vice President and Director of Corporate Advocacy
• 2023 Dirty Dozen List Notification Letter to Roblox
1
Kirra Pendergast, “Urgent Update on Roblox and Online Safety,” Safe on Social, October 26, 2023,
https://www.safeonsocial.com/post/urgent-update-on-roblox-and-online-safety.
2
Ethan Baron, “Roblox of San Mateo Fails to Protect Child Gamers from Predators, Sexual Content, Lawsuit Claims,” The
Mercury News, December 8, 2023, https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/08/roblox-of-san-mateo-fails-to-protect-child-
gamers-from-predators-sexual-content-lawsuit-claims.
3
Rana Novini and Tom Shea, “NJ Girl Kidnapped by Man She Met Playing Online Video Games Including Roblox: Police,”
NBC New York, October 17, 2023, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nj-girl-kidnapped-by-man-
she-met-playing-online-video-games-including-roblox-police/4773231.
4
Kaley Brown Soren, “Man Arrested After Sexually Abusing Minor he met on Roblox: BPD,” KGET News, June 27, 2023,
https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/man-arrested-after-sexually-abusing-minor-he-met-on-roblox-bpd.
5
Parents Together, “Roblox: Little Kids Deserve Privacy!” Petition, accessed March 5, 2024,
https://act.parentstogetheraction.org/petitions/roblox-little-kids-deserve-privacy.
6
Rhiannon Bevan, “Roblox Is Opening ‘Dating Experiences’ To Players Aged 17+,” The Gamer, September 9, 2023,
https://www.thegamer.com/roblox-is-opening-dating-experiences-to-players-aged-17.
7
Josh Taylor, “Roblox Under Fire After Adding Controversial Voice Call Feature,” Dexerto, November 15, 2023,
https://www.dexerto.com/roblox/roblox-under-fire-after-adding-controversial-voice-call-feature-2384564.
8
Parents Together, Afraid, Uncertain, and Overwhelmed: A Survey of Parents on Online Sexual Exploitation of Children
(Parents Together, 2023), https://parentstogetheraction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PT_PDF_final-2.pdf.
9
David Thiel and Renée DiResta, Child Safety on Federated Social Media (Stanford Internet Obeservatory, July 2023), 8,
https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:vb515nd6874/20230724-fediverse-csam-report.pdf.
1 of 3
Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 13:01:12 Eastern Standard Time
Subject: We'd love to take Roblox off the Dirty Dozen List
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 12:09:37 PM Eastern Standard
Time
From: Lina Nealon
To: @roblox.com
CC: [email protected],
Dawn Hawkins
Attachments: image001.jpg, Roblox Notification Letter_DDL 2023_FINAL.pdf
Mr. Baszucki -
It’s been over half a year now since The National Center on Sexual Exploitation reached
out to you – imploring you to make some simple, yet significant changes to protect your
young user base.
"
We have not heard back from you, nor have we seen any progress to increase child
safety on your platform:
"
Rather, in these past few months, Roblox has
Once again been used as the tool of choice for a predator who groomed and
then kidnapped a young girl he met on your platform
Launched Roblox Connect. We couldn’t agree more with the sentiment of
someone who commented on your blog: “Instead of trying to fix the problems
of predators on Roblox, add more features to help them. Awesome job
Roblox,”"
Doubled-down on efforts to entice more adults onto the platform – officially
expanding into online dating (including for 17-year-old-kids who are likely still
in high-school!)
"
More than 2,000 of our supporters reached out to Roblox begging you for simple,
common sense changes to safeguard their kids – like defaulting all safety options to the
highest settings. But instead of hearing those pleas and committing to do better – those
who reached out were sent a disingenuous response claiming that “safety is a top
priority.” If that is true, why can a five-year-old sign up with no email or parental
permission and access games in which their character may be sexually assaulted?
"
Perhaps Roblox has recently made substantive changes to improve child safety that we
have missed… If so, please do share those with us and we would more than happily
amplify any positive steps Roblox has taken since being placed on the Dirty Dozen List.
"
But if Roblox has not made any improvements – and does not do so in the next few
months – we will very likely place your company on the 2024 Dirty Dozen List. I
personally commit to redoubling our efforts to expose major safety gaps to the press,
the public (especially parents), shareholders, and policymakers: including advocating
Roblox be brought to testify in front of Congress.
"
2 of 3
We acknowledge that Roblox does have certain safety measures in places. However,
they rely largely on parental oversight. We know – and likely you do to – that roughly
only 1 out of 3 parents use parental controls on apps. You are leaving the other 60% +
kids at risk by not implementing common sense safety features to prevent harmful
contact and content. Given who your user base is Roblox should be the gold
standard for child online safety.
"
I’d like to leave you with this heartbreaking anecdote one our supporters sent to us after
he saw Roblox on the Dirty Dozen List. I hope you think about the many children who
have been hurt by these types of experiences (and worse!) on Roblox who are suffering
quietly. Please do everything you can to prevent harm to children from ever happening
on Roblox again.
"
My grandson used to play Pokemon with me but then he got into!Roblox!when he
turned 9. I didn't know anything about it until I saw it on the Dirty Dozen List. Even
worse, a few weeks into my grandson playing!Roblox!he started to change drastically.
My grandson only wanted to ever play!Roblox. He didn't like Pokemon anymore and he
didn't want to hike with me anymore when I come to his parents' house. It was so
strange. The day I read!Roblox!was on the Dirty Dozen List I called my grandson's mom
and said "Hey you need to get your kid off this game--it's on the Dirty Dozen List" and
she said the most heartbreaking thing I ever heard. "He is already off the game
because I caught him playing a rape game". I was absolutely terrified. My
grandson who I thought was innocent and pure was playing a rape game. I cried in
bed for several hours after that sickened to think that my grandson whom I loved was
permanently tainted.
"
Our invitation to meet to discuss these issues further remains open.
"
Lina Nealon
Vice President & Director of Corporate Advocacy
National Center on Sexual Exploitation
202.430.2607 (c) |"EndSexualExploitation.org
1201 F St NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20004"
"
"
"
From: Dawn Hawkins
Date: Monday, May 1, 2023 at 1:55 PM
To:
Cc: [email protected] Lina Nealon
Patrick Trueman
Subject: Roblox named to 2023 Dirty Dozen List
Dear Mr. Baszucki,
Attached you will find a letter regarding Roblox being named to the annual
2023!Dirty!Dozen!List!as a major facilitator of sexual exploitation and abuse. Unfortunately,
extensive evidence suggests that Roblox has not sufficiently prioritized child protection and has
Established 1962
PATRICK A. TRUEMAN, J.D. | Board Member
President and CEO
DAWN E. HAWKINS
Sr. Vice President & Executive Director
BENJAMIN W. BULL, J.D.
Sr. Vice President & General Counsel
LISA L. THOMPSON
Vice President of Research and Policy
HALEY C. HALVERSON
Vice President & Director, International Centre on
Sexual Exploitation
MARK CROZÉT
Vice President and Director of Development
BOARD MEMBERS
RON DEHAAS | Chairman
Founder & CEO, Covenant Eyes
DAN O’BRYANT, J.D. | Vice Chairman
Former Fellow, Weatherhead Center for International
Affairs, Harvard University
RHONDA GRAFF | Secretary
Former Aerospace Program Manager/industrial Engineer
KEN SUKHIA, J.D. | Treasurer
Trial and Appellate Lawyer, Sukhia Law Group, PLC
HADLEY ARKES, PH.D.
Ney Professor of Jurisprudence, Emeritus,
Amherst College
BETH COONS
Chairman, Farnsworth Companies
JOHN FOUBERT, PH.D.
Dean, College of Education, Union University
ROBERT GEORGE, PH.D.
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence,
Princeton University
DONALD L HILTON, M.D.
Neurosurgeon, University of Texas - San Antonio
DONNA M. HUGHES, PH.D.
Professor, Carlson Endowed Chair, University of
Rhode Island
AMBASSADOR SWANEE HUNT
Chair and Founder, Hunt Alternatives;
Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer of Public Policy,
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
MARY ANNE LAYDEN, PH.D.
Director, Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program,
University of Pennsylvania
MOST REVEREND PAUL S. LOVERDE
Bishop, Dioceses of Arlington, VA, Retired
SHERRY NILLES
National Regent, Catholic Daughters of the Americas
KINDSEY PENTECOST
President, ItWorks! International
MARGARET RUCKS
Managing Director, Rucks Family Foundation
ALAN SEARS, ESQ.
Former President and CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom
LINNEA W. SMITH, M.D.
Retired, Psychiatrist
MELEA STEPHENS, L.P.C., M.M.F.T.
Marriage and Family Therapist
CAROLYN WEST, PH.D.
Professor of Clinical Psychology
University of Washington
JUSTICE MICHAEL J. WILKINS
Former Associate Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court
PATRICK A. TRUEMAN, J.D. | Board Member
President
DAWN E. HAWKINS
Chief Executive Officer
BENJAMIN W. BULL, J.D.
Sr. Vice President & General Counsel
BOARD MEMBERS
RON DEHAAS | Chairman
Founder & CEO, Covenant Eyes
DAN O’BRYANT, J.D. | Vice Chairman
Former Fellow, Weatherhead Center for International
Affairs, Harvard University
RHONDA GRAFF | Secretary
Former Aerospace Program Manager/industrial Engineer
KEN SUKHIA, J.D. | Treasurer
Trial and Appellate Lawyer, Sukhia Law Group, PLC
HADLEY ARKES, PH.D.
Ney Professor of Jurisprudence, Emeritus,
Amherst College
BETH COONS
Chairman, Farnsworth Companies
JOHN FOUBERT, PH.D.
Dean, College of Education, Union University
ROBERT GEORGE, PH.D.
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence,
Princeton University
DONALD L HILTON, M.D.
Neurosurgeon, University of Texas - San Antonio
DONNA M. HUGHES, PH.D.
Professor, Carlson Endowed Chair, University of
Rhode Island
AMBASSADOR SWANEE HUNT
Chair and Founder, Hunt Alternatives;
Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer of Public Policy,
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
MARY ANNE LAYDEN, PH.D.
Director, Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program,
University of Pennsylvania
MOST REVEREND PAUL S. LOVERDE
Bishop, Dioceses of Arlington, VA, Retired
SHERRY NILLES
National Regent, Catholic Daughters of the Americas
KINDSEY PENTECOST
President, ItWorks! International
MARGARET RUCKS
Managing Director, Rucks Family Foundation
ALAN SEARS, ESQ.
Former President and CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom
LINNEA W. SMITH, M.D.
Retired, Psychiatrist
MELEA STEPHENS, L.P.C., M.M.F.T.
Marriage and Family Therapist
CAROLYN WEST, PH.D.
Professor of Clinical Psychology
University of Washington
JUSTICE MICHAEL J. WILKINS
Former Associate Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court
May 1, 2023
David Baszucki
Founder and CEO, Roblox
970 Park Place, Suite 100
San Mateo, CA 94403
Re: Roblox placed on 2023 Dirty Dozen List for facilitating child
sexual exploitation and abuse
Dear Mr. Baszucki,
We are writing to inform you that the National Center on Sexual
Exploitation—a non-partisan nonprofit in Washington, DC dedicated
to addressing the full spectrum of sexual exploitation—is placing
Roblox on the annual Dirty Dozen List. The list, naming 12 major
contributors to sexual exploitation and abuse, will be revealed on
May 2.
For a platform with children under 13 comprising the largest
demographic, Roblox should boast substantial, industry-leading
safety measures to protect young users. Unfortunately, extensive
evidence suggests that Roblox has not sufficiently prioritized child
protection and has struggled to implement safety practices
commensurate with its growth – resulting in a proliferation of
exploitative and harmful content and predatory behavior.
Since Roblox’s inception, you’ve known that your platform is used to
target, groom, and abuse children. Numerous news outlets have
covered the frequent reports of children being lured into dangerous
situations by predators on Roblox. Law enforcement has spoken out
continuously to warn parents of the risks on the app.
1
There are
thousands of videos on YouTube both warning of these dangers and
recording the explicit activities. Parents post extensively on social
media to alert other caregivers to watch out for their kids.
These threats to children on your platform are not new.
So how is it that Roblox still allows adult strangers to direct
message and “friend” children – even with case after case of children
being groomed and abused through your platform, like this 13-year-
old boy who was recently kidnapped by a man he met on Roblox?
2
2
How can it be possible that children are still accessing sexually explicit material? Roblox was
recently named a top five platform for child exposure to inappropriate sexual content, according to a
Parents Together report based on surveys with 1,000 parents.
3
Why is it that while the tech industry is moving toward safety by design principles, a child’s platform
does not default to the highest safety settings…that a five-year-old can sign up with no email or
parental permission and access games where their character may be raped?
4
Instead of prioritizing meaningful child protection, Roblox instead has its sights set on expanding to an older
audience and more “mature” content.
It is long past time for Roblox to truly place child protection at the forefront and to make your platform safe
by default and design – rather than continuously pushing more of the burden onto parents to try to monitor a
platform with more than 40 million games.
5
And what about the children that don’t have the privilege of
involved, informed, available parents – the children already at greater risk for sexual exploitation? Roblox is
leaving them to fend for themselves.
As the CEO, you have a grave responsibility for the well-being of the more than 33.6 million children under
age 16 using your platform daily, 12.3 million of whom are under age eight,
6
if for nothing else than for the
fact that a significant amount of your $2.2+ billion in revenue
7
comes from your underage users.
8
Child Sexual Abuse and Grooming of Children on Roblox
Child sexual abuse and grooming have long been a threat on Roblox. A simple Google search easily yields
results about grooming and exploitation occurring on the platform. The following are just a few news stories
about predatory adults accessing children through Roblox:
• In March 2023, a 40-year-old California man was arrested after traveling across the country to
sexually abuse a 14-year-old he met and groomed on Roblox.
9
• In April 2023, a 14-year-old girl from Ohio was sexually assaulted by a man she met on Roblox. The
man posed as a 17-year-old on the platform and convinced the girl to send him nude images before
picking her up from school and sexually assaulting her.
10
• In 2022, a thirteen-year-old girl in Topeka was rescued from a man she met on Roblox who was sex
trafficking her.
11
• In 2022, an 8-year-old girl in North Carolina was targeted by an online predator on Roblox who
asked her to send him “hot videos.” The girl’s mother said she had parental controls on all the
devices her kids used.
12
• In 2022, a Florida man was arrested after kidnapping a 12-year-old boy he met on Roblox. The
man’s charges included sexual battery of a child under 12, kidnapping of a child under 13, traveling
to meet a minor for sex, and child abuse.
13
• In 2022, a 13-year-old boy was abducted from his home in Utah by a man he had been having
inappropriate sexual conversations with on Roblox.
14
• In 2021, an 11-year-old girl in California went missing and was found with her abuser, who used
Roblox to groom and lure her to his friends’ apartment, where he attempted to commit suicide when
police arrived to rescue the girl.
15
• In 2021, a 12-year-old boy in Texas was solicited by a 23-year-old man on Roblox. The man was
charged with indecent solicitation of a child, violation of sex offender registry, and grooming.
16
3
• In 2019, an 18-year-old man was charged with 26 counts of child pornography after soliciting nude
images from children ages 10 to 12 on Roblox.
17
• In 2017, a 12-year-old boy in New Jersey was groomed by a 56-year-old Virginia man on Roblox.
18
The Case of S.U.
19
S.U.'s childhood was supposed to be filled with innocent fun, but instead, it was marred by the heinous
actions of predators lurking on the Roblox platform. Despite her mother's watchful eye, S.U. was targeted by
not one, but two adult men who manipulated, exploited, and abused her through the game. These predators
used Roblox as a hunting ground for vulnerable children, and the company did nothing to stop them.
The two predators targeting S.U. may have been the most overt abusers, but S.U. was bombarded with
sexual advances from other adult players too. Roblox's supposed monitoring tools for inappropriate,
dangerous behavior seem to only apply to swearing and fighting, not the rampant sexual predation
happening on your watch. And when S.U. tried to reach out for help, she found none.
The toll of this abuse on S.U. is immeasurable. It drove her to attempt suicide twice. She has been stripped
of her childhood and her mental health continues to suffer. Her mother struggles every day to get her
daughter the help she needs, all while fighting for justice against the company that failed to protect her
daughter.
S.U.'s story is a heartbreaking reminder that we cannot let companies like Roblox prioritize profits over the
safety of our children. We must demand accountability and change to ensure that no child suffers like S.U.
did.
The Case of Utah Boy, Age 13
20
At the tender age of 13, a Utah boy was lured into a trap on your platform, an app that his parents trusted to
be safe for their child. But behind the facade of child-friendly graphics and colorful characters, a predator
was lurking, preying on vulnerable children like him. With cunning tactics and false promises, the abuser
persuaded him to migrate to other apps, including Discord and Twitter, where the grooming continued to
take place in the shadows.
Then came the unthinkable. One day, the boy was suddenly snatched away and taken across state lines
before the authorities finally intervened. The trauma that he and his family have been forced to endure is
nothing short of a living nightmare. Their once happy home has been shattered into a million pieces, and the
boy's life will never be the same again.
This tragedy occurred just in the past six months.
And it could have been avoided if Roblox had taken a stronger stance against the presence of adult predators
on your platform. While the company may tout its commitment to safety, these bold statements have proven
hollow in the face of frequent incidents of abuse. It's past time for Roblox to step up and protect the innocent
children who use your platform before another tragedy like this one occurs.
Sexualized Themes and Activities and Other Inappropriate Content within Experiences
We appreciate that your policies prohibit such activities, however, there are hundreds of games with sexually
explicit themes, including strip clubs, dance clubs, “Condo Experiences,” and more. Child accounts by
4
default have access to all of these experiences. (This article in Rolling Stone addresses the “virtual strip
clubs” on Roblox.)
21
Many youth have reported innocently visiting “condo experiences” only to be encouraged to visit someone’s
“home,” go into the “bedroom,” and then engage in virtual sexual acts. Other children innocently wander
around the games and stumble on this activity. NCOSE researchers created a 10-year-old account on Roblox
and were easily exposed to inappropriate content, as shown in the screenshots below.
We plead with you to urgently address this problem on your platform.
5
The third experience we visited after setting up this account was “Bathroom simulation 1” (appearing in the
recommended for you homepage), where there was an avatar walking around with no clothes on.
A mother created an account she was testing before letting her six young children onto Roblox and her
avatar was sexually assaulted in a similar bathroom simulator (in case you inexplicably did not see this story
from this past January, you can view the Twitter thread here
22
and read more about this situation here
23
).
6
Screenshot taken of an embedded video on Twitter, April 27, 2023
Grossly Inadequate Child Protection and Insufficient Parental Controls on Roblox
Your platform has a responsibility to protect children from harm, yet you continue to fall short in this regard.
Children of any age are allowed to create accounts; no email and no parental permission is required. By
default, you set young child accounts to:
• allow access to 13+ experiences
• allow in-game chatting between young children and everyone else
• allow anyone to “friend” young child accounts (parents cannot even disable this access)
7
Default settings for 10-year-old account created on April 22, 2023:
It is unacceptable that even with all of the documented harms, Roblox still does not automatically
default settings for children to the safest measures.
The “parental controls” you do offer are inadequate. They don’t offer protection against some of the
most basic risks (allowing parents to blacklist or whitelist specific games or stopping adult strangers from
friending kids) and where they do offer some solutions, they are not comprehensive. Instead, Roblox’s
parental controls create a false sense of security for parents who trust you. For example, many parents
believe they are disabling chatting, but are not told that it only stops some forms of chatting and that adults
can still communicate with kids through certain games. Likewise, parents are not told that anyone can
8
“friend” their child when they set chatting to be only with friends. Your users and their parents deserve
transparency and accountability. We need to know the truth to keep kids safe.
Roblox must provide effective parental controls. The following are some of the flaws with your current
tools:
1. Inadequate Filtering: The platform’s filtering system is not always effective at blocking
inappropriate content, including sexual content and violence. This means that children can still be
exposed to harmful material despite parental controls being in place. Many games are marked as “all
ages” when they include mature and sexualized themes.
2. Limited Customization: While parents can customize some aspects of their child's account, such as
restricting most ways to chat, they cannot customize the filtering system or create their own list of
blocked words or games. Additionally, parents cannot stop strangers from requesting to be friends
with children.
3. Limited Visibility: Roblox’s parental controls do not give parents full visibility into their child’s
activity on the platform. For example, parents cannot see the content of private messages sent
between their child and another user.
4. Lack of Age Verification: Roblox does not verify the age of its users, making it easier for underage
children to access the platform and potentially harmful content, and for adult users to lie about their
ages and gain easier access to youth users. When a child does join the game, there are no prompts
requesting parental permission or encouraging the kids or parents to utilize the parental controls.
5. Insufficient Guidance: Roblox’s parental controls do not provide sufficient guidance to parents on
how to effectively monitor their child’s activity and keep them safe while using the platform.
6. Lack of Transparency: Many parents trust when Roblox says parental controls will disable chats or
filter inappropriate content. Roblox owes it to parents to explain where its tools fall short and to
clarify common work-arounds used to continue chatting (using signs for example) or exposing kids
to dangerous material.
7. Complicated to Set Up: Parents have to go to multiple places within the app to restrict access to
certain content and who has access to their children. It is not easy to find instructions for parental
controls, and those that are on your website are not simple to follow and do not explain where the
tools fall short.
It is not enough to rely on parents to monitor their children’s activity on your platform when Roblox has a
duty to implement strong and effective measures to prevent these heinous crimes.
Required Changes at Roblox
At the very least, Roblox must prioritize and expedite the following changes to ensure all users – but
especially your youngest users – are safe and free from sexual abuse and exploitation:
1. Default minor accounts to the highest safest settings
2. Disable direct messaging between children and adults with whom they are not friends; consider
blocking direct messaging for children 15 and under as TikTok has done
3. Expand caregiver tools to help parents protect their children while using Roblox; obtain permission
by parents for children 12 and under to access the platform
9
4. Implement age verification measures to restrict adult users from lying about their age and gaining
access to children
5. Augment prevention and moderation measures to block and remove all inappropriate content
and games that contain sexual themes or other explicit material; at minimum, do not allow
minors to access such games. An additional age rating of 17+ must be added if you continue to allow
sexual and violent themes.
6. Improve reporting systems so that it is easier for users to report inappropriate behavior; take swift
action to remove any users who are found to be engaging in inappropriate behavior
7. Increase transparency – especially to parents – when it comes to reporting and handling cases of
grooming and exploitation, as well as the dangers kids face on your platform and the ways your
safety settings commonly fall short
It is past time for you to take responsibility for the harm that has been inflicted on innocent children on your
platform. Ignoring the risks is not an option. We are optimistic that Roblox will make the necessary changes
with the urgency commensurate to the harms your platform poses. Please take action now before another
child falls victim to the dangers of Roblox.
Respectfully,
Patrick Trueman, Esq. Dawn Hawkins
President CEO
Cc:
Manuel Bronstein, Chief Product Officer
Craig Donato, Chief Business Officer
1
Sampling of quotes from law enforcement press conferences and news releases:
▪ “Roblox has become a hunting ground for sexual predators to groom and exploit children.” – Detective Superintendent
Jon Rouse, Australian Federal Police (Source: ABC News Australia)
▪ “Parents, if you let your children go on Roblox unsupervised, please be aware that predators are waiting to exploit them.”
– Detective Chief Inspector Dan Ison, UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command (Source: BBC
News)
▪ “Roblox presents an especially insidious threat, since it is a platform used mostly by children.” – Frank J. Russo Jr.,
Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (Source: Homeland Security Today)
▪ “Roblox is no longer a game. It is now a hunting ground for predators and pedophiles who know they can meet children
here and communicate with them without being monitored.” – Jacob T. Leiper Sr., Assistant Special Agent in Charge at
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations office in Pittsburgh (Source:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
▪ “Roblox, like many online gaming platforms, has become a target for those who prey on the vulnerabilities of children.”
– Marcus Knott, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Field Office (Source: KSHB News)
10
2
Ben Goggin, “A 13-Year-Old Boy was Groomed Publicly on Twitter and Kidnapped, Despite Numerous Chances to Stop It,”
NBC News, April 25, 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/twitter-elon-musk-boy-kidnapped-groomed-discord-
roblox-mcconney-rcna77985.
3
Parents Together, Afraid, Uncertain, and Overwhelmed: A Survey of Parents on Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (Parents
Together, 2023), https://parentstogetheraction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PT_PDF_final-2.pdf.
4
Carolyn Velociraptor (@Arumi_kai), “These are Games for 5 Year Olds,” Twitter, January 4, 2023,
https://twitter.com/Arumi_kai/status/1610784614930612227.
5
Rebecca Jones and Connor Makar, “The Best Roblox Games to Play in 2023,” VG247, January 1, 2023,
https://www.vg247.com/best-roblox-games.
6
J. Clement, “Distribution of Roblox Audiences Worldwide as of December 2022, by Age Group,” Statista, April 19, 2023,
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1190869/roblox-games-users-global-distribution-age.
7
Roblox Corporation, “Roblox Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results,” news release, February 15, 2023,
https://ir.roblox.com/news/news-details/2023/Roblox-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2022-Financial-Results/default.aspx.
8
Cecilia D’Anastasio, “On Roblox, Kids Learn It’s Hard to Earn Money Making Games,” Wired, August 19, 2021,
https://www.wired.com/story/on-roblox-kids-learn-its-hard-to-earn-money-making-games.
9
Bill Shannon, “Man Traveled Across the Country to Sleep with Altoona Teen, Police Report,” WTAJ, March 14, 2023,
https://www.wtaj.com/news/local-news/man-traveled-across-the-country-to-sleep-with-altoona-teen-police-report.
10
Dave Spencer and David Komer, “Feds: Saline Man Met Girl, 14, Playing Roblox Online Game and Sexually Assaulted Her,”
FOX 2 Detroit, April 26, 2023, https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/feds-saline-man-met-girl-14-playing-roblox-online-game-and-
sexually-assaulted-her.
11
Mark Feuerborn, “Accused Topeka Teen Trafficker Found with Child Porn, Court Filing Says,” KSNT, May 5, 2022,
https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/accused-topeka-teen-trafficker-found-with-child-porn-court-filing-says.
12
Anna Austin Boyers and Debra Worley, “Girl, 8, Targeted by Child Predator on Roblox, Mom Says,” ABC 20 WCJB, July 11,
2022, https://www.wcjb.com/2022/07/11/girl-8-targeted-by-child-predator-roblox-mom-says.
13
Jorge Borges, “Florida Man Arrested For Kidnapping A Child He Met On Roblox,” The Free Press Tampa, April 17, 2022,
https://www.tampafp.com/florida-man-arrested-for-kidnapping-a-child-he-met-on-roblox.
14
Andrea Blanco, “Man Arrested for Abducting 13-Year-Old Boy He Met on Gaming Platform Roblox, Police Say,” Yahoo!
Money, December 28, 2022, https://money.yahoo.com/man-arrested-abducting-13-old-201618221.html.
15
Alexis Rivas, “National City Kidnapping Case Highlights Growing Role of Gaming Apps in Child Exploitation,” NBC 7 San
Diego, February 5, 2021, https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/national-city-kidnapping-case-highlights-
growing-role-of-gaming-apps-in-child-exploitation/2513779.
16
Jeff Bonty, “Man Charged with Soliciting Juvenile Through Roblox,” Daily Journal, July 23, 2021, https://www.daily-
journal.com/news/crime/man-charged-with-soliciting-juvenile-through-roblox/article_d5459446-eb22-11eb-8fdc-
1f1054f1f8d9.html.
17
Nick Samuel, “Man Charged with 26 Counts of Child Porn; Used Online Game to Target Children,” VeroNews.com, August 21,
2019, https://veronews.com/2019/08/21/man-charged-with-26-counts-of-child-porn-used-online-game-to-target-children.
18
Pei-Sze Cheng, “I-Team: NJ Mom Says Sexual Predator Targeted 12-Year-Old Son on Roblox,” NBC 4 New York, December 4,
2018, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/i-team-nj-mom-says-sexual-predator-targeted-12-year-old-son-roblox/103960.
19
Brendan Pierson, “Game Company Roblox Enabled Girl's Sexual Exploitation, Lawsuit Claims,” Reuters, October 5, 2022,
https://www.reuters.com/legal/game-company-roblox-enabled-girls-sexual-exploitation-lawsuit-claims-2022-10-05.
20
Goggin, ibid.
21
EJ Dickson, “Inside the Underground Strip-Club Scene on Kid-Friendly Gaming Site Roblox,” Rolling Stone, September 12,
2021, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/roblox-virtual-strip-clubs-condo-games-sex-1197237.
22
Carolyn Velociraptor (@Arumi_kai), “Alright, I’m done. DONE,” Twitter, January 24, 2023,
https://twitter.com/Arumi_kai/status/1610765680571473921.
23
Ana Diaz, “Roblox Wants an Older Audience, but it’s Leaving Younger Players Behind,” Polygon, January 21, 2023,
https://www.polygon.com/23563104/roblox-experience-guidelines-age-assault-safety.
