A new investigation has revealed what researchers describe as 'deeply disturbing' risks to children on the gaming platform Roblox, including easy access to inappropriate content and unsupervised contact with adults.
Digital behaviour experts Revealing Reality created multiple test accounts registered to fictional users aged five to over 40. They found that a five-year-old avatar could communicate with an adult avatar, and a 10-year-old's account could access sexually suggestive environments, including a hotel room featuring a female avatar gyrating on a bed.
Researchers also recorded examples of their test avatars overhearing sexual conversations via voice chat, despite Roblox's claim that all voice chat is subject to real-time AI moderation. In one instance, an adult test account successfully asked a five-year-old test account for their Snapchat details using coded language.
Roblox acknowledged that children may be exposed to harmful content and 'bad actors', but said the issue requires industry-wide collaboration and government intervention. The company noted that 'tens of millions of people have a positive, enriching and safe experience on Roblox every day'.
Parents have shared serious concerns, including cases of a 10-year-old boy groomed by an adult he met on the platform, and a nine-year-old girl who experienced panic attacks after encountering sexual content. The researchers concluded that new safety tools introduced last week 'don't go far enough'.
