Roblox Corp. RBLX reported an increase in child exploitation incidents during 2023, with over 13,000 cases flagged to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a significant rise from 3,000 the previous year.

The platform’s broad reach, serving around 77 million daily players — including 40% under the age of 13 — has brought its safety measures into focus.

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In dialogue with Benzinga, Roblox’s Communications Team shared a statement addressing concerns about its safety practices.

“A recent article contained glaring mischaracterizations about how we protect users of all ages on the platform and failed to reflect both the complexities of online child safety and the realities of the overwhelmingly positive experiences that tens of millions of people of all ages have on Roblox every single day,” the spokesperson said.

Roblox also stressed the reported incidents must be understood in the context of the platform’s enormous content volume.

“Bloomberg fails to provide context on the scale of these reported incidents vis-a-vis the amount of content on the platform and growing user base of 77 million daily active users. In a single quarter, Roblox users generated and uploaded approximately 205 billion total pieces of content,” the spokesperson added.

Furthermore, the company’s contribution to the NCMEC's total report count is less than 0.04% of the 36.2 million reports received by the center that year for suspected child sexual abuse material.

Increased Reports and High-Profile Cases

The accessibility of Roblox across various platforms, including PlayStation, PC and mobile devices, has made it a popular environment for children but has also exposed it to potential threats.

Bloomberg reported that despite Roblox's response to 1,300 law enforcement requests for information on predatory players, some individuals managed to evade detection. A high-profile case involved Arnold “DoctorRofatnik” Castillo, who operated the successful game Sonic Eclipse Online.

Castillo was apprehended after attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl 700 miles away, leading to a 15-year prison sentence for grooming and sexual abuse.

Roblox's Safety Measures And Future Plans

Roblox has reiterated its commitment to safety, with Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman detailing ongoing efforts to enhance platform security.

“To be the best in the world at delivering safe and civil online experiences, this is essential,” Kaufman said. He highlighted that only 0.0063% of content on Roblox was flagged for policy violations, including bullying and hate speech.

The company is actively working on the next generation of safety tools and features to address evolving threats. “We will continue to work tirelessly to keep our users safe and be vigilant against bad actors who might attempt to circumvent our safety systems,” Kaufman affirmed in a blog post.

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Image courtesy: Roblox Corp.