Roblox CEO tell parents to ‘keep children off platform’ if concerned

Dave Baszucki, the chief executive of Roblox, has reportedly said that parents who worry about their children playing on the gaming platform should keep them away from it.

Roblox is one of the most popular online games for children, allowing users to design, share and play games created by others, offering a virtual universe where players can explore a variety of immersive experiences to play in.

In the UK, the platform, which is particularly popular with children between the ages of 8 and 12, has come under significant criticism regarding its safety, with numerous reports and allegations of children being exposed to explicit or harmful content, as well as instances of bullying and grooming, the BBC reported.

In defence of the platform’s security measures, Baszucki commented on the allegations in an exclusive interview with BBC this week, in which he said: “My first message would be, if you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox.”

He added: “That sounds a little counter-intuitive, but I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.”

Baszucki went on to say that the platform has current protection measures in place to safeguard safety and manages to provide “tens of millions” of people with “amazing experiences.”

However, Justine Roberts, chief executive Mumsnet – of one of the largest online communities for parents in the UK – told the BBC that parents continue to struggle to manage children’s safety while using the platform.

“There are parental controls, and our users would urge constant parental supervision,” she told the BBC.

She emphasised that children supervision is not always easy.

“If you’ve got multiple children you’re looking after and things happen, and you probably can’t 24/7 watch everything they’re doing, even if you’ve got all your parental controls set,” continued Roberts.

Ellie Gibson, creator of the Scummy Mummies podcast agreed with Mumsnet’s founder.

“It’s much easier said than done, especially when all their friends are playing it,” she told the BBC.

To address the risks of harm online, the UK Online Safety Act, which will come into force in April 2025, will seek to increase online safety for both children and adults.