Roblox wants exemption from social media ban despite evidence of predators targeting children

In his nine years on Roblox, Melbourne teen Ollie has been exposed to a steady stream of disturbing content he wishes he could unsee, ranging from pro-Nazi demonstrations to child abuse material.

Warning: This story contains references to self-harm, child abuse material and an image of a Nazi symbol.

"I knew way too much at a young age, and it was mainly due to those platforms," the 16-year-old told the ABC.

Despite being marketed to children, the platform exposed Ollie to a wide range of harmful content that the internet has to offer.

"There were people showing very disgusting images … they were saying things encouraging terrorism, [showing] porn and self-harm imagery," he said.

Ollie also reported being approached on Roblox multiple times by adults masquerading as children, who usually tried to set up private communications on external platforms.

He suspected they were sexual predators, but could not be sure because he declined their offers.

"I was very suspicious in that way," he said.

Roblox has doubled in size since 2022, and now boasts roughly 111 million daily users — an estimated 40 per cent of whom are under the age of 13.

It is also the most popular gaming app among Australian children aged between four and 18, making Australia the second-largest market for Roblox, behind the United States.

The platform is vast and contains millions of user-generated games that can be experienced in a shared, 3D virtual space.

The games vary wildly in their purpose and style, and every user is represented by a customisable avatar.

In one instance, Ollie was exposed to child sexual abuse material when another user uploaded images.

"There was an eight-year-old who … was not only spouting Nazi stuff, showing like Nazi imagery … he also started showing [child abuse material]," he said.

Ollie reported the user to Roblox, but it did not solve the problem.

"I think he got banned on one account, but then he made another one because a month later. I found the same kid in the same game doing the same thing," Ollie said.

He also experienced multiple instances of far-right extremists swarming a game and harassing younger users.

"One time when I was in the game, like five different people joined and they all started holding Nazi flags and … saying stuff in German," he said.

The game he was playing was a hangout for LGBTQI+ young people on Roblox.

The extremists verbally abused other players using the platform's voice and text chat functions, made transphobic remarks and encouraged self-harm, Ollie said.

Ollie said he had seen far-right extremists trying to lure children to their cause.

"They were recruiting people to be in war recreations, which were always Nazi things," he said.

"It's Nazis trying to brainwash children into their beliefs."

Ollie only revealed the extent of his experiences on Roblox to his mum, Jody, in September.

"I was pretty shocked … I had no idea," she said.

"I think Roblox is worse [than mainstream social media], from what I've learned in the past few weeks. It blows my mind.

"I couldn't have dealt with that, but I think kids these days — they've seen so much of it, they're desensitised."

Ollie said he wanted to speak about his experiences to alert other parents that Roblox was not as safe as they might assume.

"Most parents believe that the platform is just fine and safe for their kid," he said.

"My main message is just be aware of what your child is doing online.

"Even just joining them in a game every now and then … and understanding why they like the platform so much can help."

Why experts believe Roblox is a soft target for predators

Independent researchers have corroborated Ollie's account of the dangers of Roblox.

"We went onto the platform and had a look around," said Damon De Ionno, the managing director of UK-based social research agency Revealing Reality.

"It only took a minute or two before we saw behaviour and overheard conversations that were really quite disturbing.

"You walk up to a group of avatars or players and as soon as you get close, you can hear what they're saying.

"It's very normalised."

Revealing Reality's research from April also highlighted that children on the platform were often able to access games with sexually explicit content.

Ollie gave similar examples, including a game called "Public Bathroom Simulator", which he said had no age barrier at the time.

"This game is on the front pages of the platform … and they haven't even bothered to check it to see that it wasn't appropriate," he said.

Roblox has faced acute public criticism recently and several lawsuits alleging the platform exposes children to predators with lax safety settings are underway in the US.

"Unfortunately, a lot of cases have been reported in the global media of children being groomed and then subsequently abused by adults … where they've met on Roblox," Mr De Ionno said.

He warned that the conditions on the platform were ideal for sexual predators.

"It looks like it's fun and innocent from the outside — lots of children are playing on it.

"That's in combination with the fact that there's people of all ages in the same spaces and … the fact that there's no way to tell who's an adult or a child when you're in the game."

Far-right extremists favour the platforms for the same reasons, according to experts such as Kaz Ross.

"We've got explicitly Nazi groups saying, in 2016 and 2017 … 'this is what we're doing.'"

Dr Ross said one of the most worrying extremist groups active on Roblox was known as 764.

"It's a massive network of people across the world who particularly target very young people for self-harm, through cutting themselves," Dr Ross said.

She warned the group promoted violent nihilism, was active in Australia, and exploited the platform's design to reach new victims and lure them elsewhere.

"A group like 764 will encourage their target to join Discord because … it's not moderated in the same way that Roblox is," she said.

Roblox to expand age checks

Roblox has already tightened its safety measures once this year.

Users must now be verified as 17 or older to access certain games and the platform has recently boosted AI content moderation as well as parental controls.

"Our policies are purposely stricter than other platforms," a Roblox spokesperson told the ABC in a statement.

"We limit chat for younger users, we do not allow the sharing of images or video in chat or via our messaging functionality, we monitor all communications, and we deploy advanced text filters to block the sharing of personal information and inappropriate language."

That is an improvement, but Mr De Ionno likened it to introducing age checks at a sex club while failing to check who visited the local playground.

"You can choose to identify as an adult, so that you can enter [adult] spaces, but you can also choose not to, so … it's very, very easy to register as a child," he said.

In September, Roblox announced it was planning to expand age verification to all users who used the platform's communication features.

That change would occur before the end of the year, the company said.

"This will provide a more accurate measure of a user's age and support our plans for further limiting communication between adults and minors to help keep young Australians safe," the spokesperson said.

At that point, he said, Roblox would have the ability to label who was over or under 18 on the platform and to separate people into age brackets, although it has not announced a plan to do so.

"That would certainly reduce some of the issues," Mr De Ionno added.

Roblox is one of several online platforms whose inclusion in the teen social media ban is in doubt.

The eSafety Commissioner has written to Roblox and 15 other companies to indicate they may be affected by the new law, which will force platforms to block under-16s from holding accounts after December 10.

Roblox told the ABC it did not think it should be included in the ban and it is not yet clear whether the platform will be expected to comply.