The Washington Post recently ran this great article on the power and influence of the YouTube channel People Make Games, which ROBLOX reportedly "pressured" to make a retraction when it started looking into serious allegations about the metaverse platform. The Washington Post confirms that the company did request a retraction, and gets what People Make Games couldn't get, despite many tries -- an official reply from ROBLOX:
In a statement to The Post, Roblox’s Nevius characterized both of PMG’s videos as “not accurate,” saying they contain claims “in pursuit of clicks that downplay or outright ignore numerous features and parental controls we have in place to ensure our platform provides a safe, civil and welcoming space for people of all ages to play and connect.”
Nevius also pointed to parents’ ability to set in-game spending limits on their kids, as well as a “large, expertly trained” moderation team that targets scams and inappropriate content and “aggressively deters” users moving “Roblox”-related transactions to unsafe websites. He also said that, despite “Roblox’s” young audience, the “vast majority” of top-earning and most-played developers on the platform are over 18.
People Make Games' Quintin Smith (that's him on the couch up there), however, isn't satisficed with that answer, and told me why in great detail:
I would encourage Nevius to describe the "numerous features" that make the platform safe and welcoming. In lieu of that, I'd point out that on the subject of "parental controls", any child can make a new Roblox account in seconds and lie about their age to not just bypass any parental controls, but also access all features of the Roblox platform that are inaccessible to children under 13 years old.
On the subject of spending limits that a parent can place on their child's Roblox account, I'd point out that problems arise from these settings not being switched on by default. Children on Roblox are able to receive Robux from any number of sources without their parents being involved, and I've personally spoken to children who were able to earn thousands of dollars worth of Robux, but then were able to spend it in seconds on a single unwise purchase.
As for this line about their moderation team, they wheel it out every time that their moderation is questioned as if it's a shield against any criticisms. It's not!For starters, I'd ask Roblox if they could name the countries that they outsource their moderation to, which is popularly believed to be India but Roblox has never confirmed this because I believe it would make them look like they're trying to save money when it comes to the safe and trustworthy moderation of their platform.
I'd also ask them to Google "Roblox moderation" and see how many of the results relate to people complaining about their moderation, and then ask what they would say to those people who feel aggrieved by the quality of the moderation on the platform. I'd also simply ask them what they'd like to say to the dozens of people who are currently in my inbox who have told me that grooming is so common on Roblox that they consider it normal.
With regards to "the “vast majority” of top-earning and most-played developers on the platform" being over 18, I'd ask them if they think they should message that somewhere to their fans. They messaging Roblox has been using for the better part of a decade is that the platform is about "kids making games for other kids". If that's changed, do they think they have a responsibility to message that to the users of the platform who until as recently as 2021 were being told they could quote "make serious cash" developing games for the platform- that today, making games for the platform means competing against teams of adults?
On the "parental control" question, I imagine ROBLOX might fairly point out that a company can do only so much to block subterfuge and workarounds by kids, as that's a problem no one's been able to fully fix since there's been alluring content kids want to access. As to the other questions, I'd love to see answers to them myself. Meantime, subscribe to People Make Games for more updates.
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