Game company Roblox bans 'vigilante' who exposed online predators on their website

W

WhatInThe

SF VIP
The game company Roblox banned an online vigilante who exposed online sexual predators. Said he violated their safety protocols. Roblox has been accused or known to be a hunting ground for pedophiles. His actions led to 6 arrests.

https://www.wral.com/story/roblox-r...-exposed-platforms-predator-problem/22118981/

Roblox has been facing predator hunting grounds accusations for a while now. Video games also known to be addictive and target/market to teens which has led several lawsuits.

Vigilante, whistle blower or witness?
 

I can understand why a company would not like having a do-it-yourself crime vigilante on their site-the legal & liability issues could be a nightmare. And, any site that caters to teens will be a hunting ground for pedophiles. That said the company could increase its security features.
 

For youth in particular there do need to be restrictions put on them by partents and adults-that part I get.

But if it's nothing but 'a' game why do Roblox and others have things like 'public bathrooms' or Epstein and Diddy references in a 'game' children can play.

MSN

Why do they need chatrooms at all if it's just 'a' game.

If the players want to create their own chatroom ,facebook or twitter page I get but why is a chatroom part of 'a game'. This is one of the ways they suck people in and turn them into gaming addicts.
 
WhatInThe said:
The game company Roblox banned an online vigilante who exposed online sexual predators. Said he violated their safety protocols. Roblox has been accused or known to be a hunting ground for pedophiles. His actions led to 6 arrests.
Click to expand...

There's a distinct lack of information on what he did. His intentions were apparently good, but that doesn't excuse any and every action. If Roblox have a problem, I'd like to know what they're doing to counter it.
 
VaughanJB said:
There's a distinct lack of information on what he did. His intentions were apparently good, but that doesn't excuse any and every action. If Roblox have a problem, I'd like to know what they're doing to counter it.
Click to expand...
Apparently he posed as an underaged player allowing potential and/or actual predators try and groom or meet him. His efforts did lead to 6 arrests.

Roblox said it will work harder at age verification and is now using AI scanning chats for potential predator behavior and seeing if the chat and online behavior matches the age the player says they are.

Roblox says people should be just reporting potential predators to the police which is a good and bad idea for them because now outside police agencies will begin compiling complaints even if unfounded that include Roblox. Also this opens up a player to revenge, pranks etc.

I'd say limit the chats to games only like 'nice shot'. But it's a game. I get social media helps market the game and keep current players interested(which is one of the reasons players become addicted turning a game into their social life). But in the end I thought it was supposed to be a game and not social media experience.
 
WhatInThe said:
Apparently he posed as an underaged player allowing potential and/or actual predators try and groom or meet him. His efforts did lead to 6 arrests.

Roblox said it will work harder at age verification and is now using AI scanning chats for potential predator behavior and seeing if the chat and online behavior matches the age the player says they are.

Roblox says people should be just reporting potential predators to the police which is a good and bad idea for them because now outside police agencies will begin compiling complaints even if unfounded that include Roblox. Also this opens up a player to revenge, pranks etc.

I'd say limit the chats to games only like 'nice shot'. But it's a game. I get social media helps market the game and keep current players interested(which is one of the reasons players become addicted turning a game into their social life). But in the end I thought it was supposed to be a game and not social media experience.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that.

What we have here, is a problem. On the one hand, we want to protect people, and prevent laws being broken. On the other, just about any solution is going to fall foul of campaigners.

This is happening in the UK right now. There is a new law in place to prevent young people having access to pornography on the internet. The solution to this is to "age-verify" users. Sounds reasonable (setting aside whether the evidence of age needed can be faked or not). However, others see this as a gross invasion of privacy. Why should adults have to provide evidence to all and sundry? How can we trust that such information won't be used against us?

I struggle to think of a method Roblox could use, without providing them some kind of documentation........... Other than this: They should employ a team - and I'm not talking five people, more like a 100 people - to constantly monitor posted content.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top