Robloxhas released an official statement regarding the recent lawsuit brought against it by the Louisiana Attorney General, and journalists Chris Hansen and Schelp have begun an investigation intoRoblox’s child safety protocols, too. The LA AG Office filed alawsuit againstRobloxearlier this week, alleging the company has failed to put adequate child safety measures into place to protect them from potentially harmful activities.
This article contains information about alleged safety negligence that puts children and teenagers at risk of being harmed by sexual predators through grooming, child pornography, and other harmful content.
The lengthy statement made byRobloxdoes not address the lawsuit directly, reading:“Roblox as a policy does not comment on pending litigation.“The message goes on to detail the game’s safety precautions, security measures, commitment to preventing illegal activities, and more.
Additionally, it has been reported that Roblox CEODavid Baszukibriefly deleted his X account or lost access somehow, but it is now back (viaGameRantandUtibaon Reddit). Baszuki’s latest posts have beenheavily scrutinized and were subject to layers of community notes, some of which link to sources that stateRobloxactively sent cease and desist orders to content creatorSchelp, to allegedly block his child sex crimes investigations intoRoblox.
Following the lawsuit and public outcry, the former host ofTo Catch A PredatorandDateline NBC,Chris Hansen, posted a video on social media in which he states that he, along with his TruBlu team and Schelp,is investigatingRobloxfor the alleged exploitation of children on the platform. Hansen has stated he has already interviewed law enforcement officers and victims of the alleged child sex crimes.
Roblox Says “No System Is Perfect”
Attorney General Accuses Roblox Of Child Safety Negligence
InRoblox’s statement, the company assures players, fans, and the public that"any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue.“Robloxdetails its security measures and then follows with a note that some users could be"bad actors"evading detection by its protocols and guard systems, and then states that users could be lured to other platforms,“where safety standards and moderation practices may differ.”
Roblox’s population is massive, evensurpassing the player count ofFortniteat certain points, and with anestimated 66 percent of its users under the age of 17, the safety concerns of the service have been heavily scrutinized.Robloxassures parents and users that it actively cooperates with law enforcement and proactively reports any safety concerns.
Robloxacknowledges the importance of online safety in the statement and says it aims to create one of the safest online environments for users. The message ends with:“We understand there is always more work to be done, and we are committed to making Roblox a safe and positive environment for all users.”
Chris Hansen & Schelp Investigate Roblox
Both Have Already Interviewed Convicted Criminals & Victims
This lawsuit has caught the attention of Hansen and Schelp, who have both spent years investigating child sex crimes, child predators, and child groomers. OnSchelp’s X page, he posted a clip of an interview he had with a convicted sex offender,Lewis Hasty,from North Carolina, during which Hasty admits he exchangedRobloxgame currency for child pornography and chatted inappropriately with minors in the game.
Schelp also posted astatementfrom law firmStinar Gould Grieco & Hensleythat states Schelp was hit with the aforementioned cease and desist orders after his investigations led to six differentRoblox-related arrests. Since then, Schelp has continued his work and has joined forces with Hansen to launch an even larger investigation intoRoblox.
Robloxis one of themost controversial platformsin history, and the company has not commented on the alleged intentional silencing of Schelp. It has also not commented on Hansen looking into various cases, either, as of this writing.
