Video game Roblox branded ‘paedophile hellscape’ for children

[Crimson Dynamo]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/10/08/TELEMMGLPICT000397185082_17284046177100_trans_NvBQ zQNjv4BqRo0U4xU-30oDveS4pXV-Vv4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=700

A massively popular online children’s video game has been labelled a
“paedophile hellscape” by a notorious US investment firm, wiping billions off the
company’s value.

Hindenburg Research, one of Wall Street’s best known short sellers, claimed
that users of Roblox were openly trading child abuse images and alleged it had
found hundreds of accounts named after Jeffrey Epstein.

The investment firm claimed young users were exposed to grooming,
pornography and violence, and that safety was being compromised in an
attempt to boost profits.

It said there were no age controls on chat rooms dedicated to adult materials.

“We found Roblox to be an X-rated paedophile hellscape, replete with users
attempting to groom our avatars, groups openly trading child pornography,
widely accessible sex games, violent content and extremely abusive speech
– all of which is open to young children and all while Roblox has cut content
moderation spending to appease Wall Street and boost earnings,” Hindenburg
said.

Roblox is one of the world’s most popular video games and the majority of its
80m daily users are 16 or under, with one in five under nine years old. The
average user plays the game for 2.5 hours a day, according to Roblox’s own
figures.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/10/08/video-game-roblox-paedophile-hellscape-children/

[Cherie]

Jesus, how has this been allowed to happen

[Kate!]

Omg

[GoldHeart]

And I thought twitch was bad ! , this sounds horrendous :umm2: .

[Jessica.]

Roblox is a platform where people can kind make their own games or chat rooms, there are lots of safe and child friendly games with chat restrictions and such. There's probably thousands of games, I haven't had a look in a while. I'm guessing these predators are setting up their own spaces on there. It's very sad because some of the games are really fun and engaging for kids. Decorating a house, pictiomary type games, hide and seek etc..

[GoldHeart]

It's actually disgusting how stuff like this always seems to go unrestricted and never gets blocked or banned on websites children are using ,yet you can't mention the word "death" on platforms like youTube who seem to censor random things etc.

[Oliver_W]

My step-brother hated going on headset when playing random games on there, he said there were always "creeps" hanging out.

[Mystic Mock]

Roblox has had this issue for a few years now.

Sadly kids stuff always attracts Paedophiles.

[AnnieK]

Yeah this has been a problem for years. My sons primary school sent an email highlighting it when he was a lot younger. He has used it but was never allowed to "friend" anyone he didn't know and we had a no tech upstairs rule at the time so he was monitored whilst on it.

[Mystic Mock]

Roblox is a platform where people can kind make their own games or chat rooms, there are lots of safe and child friendly games with chat restrictions and such. There's probably thousands of games, I haven't had a look in a while. I'm guessing these predators are setting up their own spaces on there. It's very sad because some of the games are really fun and engaging for kids. Decorating a house, pictiomary type games, hide and seek etc..

The Game itself is innocent.

Sadly it's the Paedophiles deliberately wanting to ruin what should be a fun experience for kids, that's the problem imo.

Sadly for a lot of these children out there that love Roblox, the developers will probably be forced to make things much more password/encrypted heavy just to keep the sickos away.

[Quantum Boy]

We've taken what might seem like an odd approach to this for some, I'm sure. My eldest (who is 15) has been using Roblox since she was about 8. When she was younger it was on the computer set up in the living room so we were always there. We essentially just let her experience the internet with guidance and a pragmatic understanding that the world is, frankly, full of horrible dodgy bastards.

Now what I will say with a daughter in her mid teens...

...is that I'm much more comfortable having a daughter who will immediately say "LOL f8ck off you grubby paedo :joker:" with a cackle and a screenshot sent to her friends, than one who is only just now encountering the realities of the world.

I don't particularly like the reality of the modern era but it is what it is, and in my humble opinion, we're at the point where raising kids pre-warned and pre-armed against the dangers of a fully interconnected world isn't just optimal, it's essential. The predators are out of the bottle, so to speak. Teach your kids to be able to see them, early. Because you can't hide them from it forever, you won't always be there, and if it's a new concept later on, they are much more vulnerable to exploitation.