Hindenburg Research accuses Roblox of child abuse - Controversy explanation
Among the millions of players Roblox caters to, many are underage. While serving minors has been an excellent strategy for the gaming giant, as per investment research firm Hidenburg Research, it has reportedly led to an array of problems. These allegedly include child abuse.
On November 2, 2024, this investment research firm alleged on X that Roblox permits users to solicit content related to child sexual abuse. This article takes a closer look at the accusations levied against gaming platform.
Why did Hindenburg Research accuse Roblox of being complicit in child abuse?
Hindenburg Research posted a thread of screenshots of several alleged Roblox groups with conversations involving child sexual abuse. Players reportedly took to the chat wall on these forums to post inappropriate messages. Some of these texts were encrypted using the Morse code but weren't difficult to decode.
Seemingly, Roblox has since taken down all the groups highlighted in the above post. There was another incident reported where a woman had asked a 10-year-old to drop a baby, resulting in serious consequences. According to Hindenburg Research, that woman is now behind bars for exploiting a minor.
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There was also a Roblox experience called "Baby Dropping Simulator," a title that was reportedly considered appropriate for children aged 9+. Only after the controversy blew up did Roblox delete it from the platform.
The evidence presented by Hindenburg Research appears to have put Roblox in a tight spot. CEO David Baszucki is yet to make a statement on the matter. However, you can tune in to our Roblox News section to stay up-to-date with the latest information on this topic.
What precautions should you take?
In light of the above controversy, you must take some precautions to safeguard your children's accounts. For that, you can employ Parental Controls, which requires a four-digit PIN to use. At first, the four-digit PIN is sent to the associated E-mail address.
Then, it can be used to confirm actions under the Parental Controls menu. On this page, you can choose what experiences your kid can access by selecting the age group.
Apart from this, you can also enable Account Restrictions to prohibit unknown users from interacting with your kids. You can modify this communication option by entering the "Privacy" tab in the Settings menu on Roblox's website.