Cops confirm Kiwi kids targeted on popular game site Roblox
Saturday, 19 October 2024
NZ paedophiles are prowling on popular kids’ gaming site Roblox for children to groom and abuse.
The Waikato Times has been made aware of numerous safety concerns around the popular online game which allows users to “create, share experiences with friends, and be anything you can imagine”.
Crucially, police have confirmed that Roblox has been used by sex offenders in New Zealand while an online child safety campaigner has labelled it “one of the biggest sexual predator grooming grounds in the world”.
“Police are aware of occurrences in New Zealand where sexual offenders have contacted and in some instances, shared or encouraged the sending of explicit material with young people over the gaming platform,” Detective Senior Sergeant Kepal Richards said.
Richards, from the police Online Child Exploitation Across NZ unit, also said: “This also includes indecent conversations between these adults and children.”
Richards said while gaming platforms can appear innocent, “unfortunately child sexual offenders are present on these platforms which can pose danger to our young people”.
Child sex offenders can “be present on any number of platforms young people are present on and they often encourage the children to change to and engage with them via other messaging platforms”.
Rob Cope, director and co-founder of Our Kids Online, gave a blunt assessment when the Waikato Times asked him about Roblox.
“A total shit show for kids,” he said.
“I recently had a principal tell me that three of his Year 8 girls had all sent nudes to the same predator on Roblox.
“Then there are the sex rooms that get built.”
Cope said a friend of one of his children “ended up in one of these when he was about eight years old.”
A video seen by the Waikato Times of a Roblox ‘sex room’, which is too graphic to show, saw game avatars engaging in extreme sexual behaviour and chat.
Cope said most parents who allow their children to play Roblox are “blissfully unaware it’s one of the biggest sexual predator grooming grounds in the world”.
“Any online game our kids play where they can talk to strangers will be a predator’s hunting ground and Roblox is one of the worst,” he said.
Cope also noted that Roblox is listed on the National Centre on Child Exploitation’s ‘dirty dozen’ list for 2024, labelling the gaming platform as “a tool for sexual predators”.
“Children 12 and under make up the largest demographic of Roblox’s users,” they said.
“But the company is doing an astonishingly poor job of protecting their young userbase.”
Cope also said Roblox has 10% of its staff “focused entirely on trust and safety”.
“That shows you the extent of the problem,” he said.
“If 10% of the staff at your local swimming pool were hired exclusively to look for predators would you send your kids there? Even more so, would you send them there unaccompanied?”
Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons also confirmed to the Waikato Times that they had received reports of concern about Roblox.
He also said the issue was far wider then simply one platform. “If you substitute the name for any gaming platform, social media, I’d be saying yes as well.”
“The greater the popularity, the more reports of harm we get. We should be concerned about the way these platforms treat young people.”
Roblox responds
In a written statement provided to the Waikato Times, a Roblox spokesperson said safety was important and they acted quickly to breaches of their standards.
“Safety and civility have been foundational to Roblox since our inception nearly two decades ago, and we have invested heavily throughout our history in our Trust & Safety efforts,” they said.
“Every day, millions of people of all ages have a safe and positive experience on Roblox, abiding by our Community Standards.”
They said they take “any content or behaviour on the platform that doesn’t abide by our standards extremely seriously and we have a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on our platform”.
“We do not allow user-to-user image sharing and we have rigorous text chat filters that block inappropriate words and phrases; we block user behaviour that clearly indicates an attempt to bring someone off our platform, including the sharing of personal information; and we proactively scan for and investigate potential cases of grooming.”
They also said younger users are prohibited from sharing social media links or questions related to personal information such as age, contact details and addresses.
“We have an expert team of thousands of people dedicated to monitoring for safety on Roblox 24/7 and they take swift action to address anything that violates our community standards,” they said.
“We promptly report any suspected child exploitation, abuse materials, or online grooming to relevant authorities and organisations such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States.
“We also recognise this is an industry wide issue and we’re in constant communication with a network of other platforms, NGO’s, and academic/industry consortiums working to find solutions to address bad actors.
“We work with more than 20 leading global organisations that focus on child safety, online safety, or both, and belong to a number of industry organisations developing best practices to keep users, particularly children, safe.
“We strongly believe the industry needs to work together to move the needle on safety, which is why we actively collaborate cross-industry to provide others with better tools for detecting grooming chat.”
How to keep your kids safe online
The chief executive of child safety advocacy group Child Matters, Jane Searle, said that while most children are much more knowledgeable about gaming platforms than their parents or caregivers, “adults still need to be involved with decisions regarding how and when their children use devices”.
“When children are young safety is about making sure you supervise your children so you can monitor all device use and protect them. As they get older and more tech savvy it becomes more about having open and honest conversations with them about the dangers,” she said.
“Teaching our young people to understand the risks and helping them make good decisions is the best protection we can give then. Open and frequent communication is essential to achieve this.”
Richards, from the police Online Child Exploitation Across NZ unit, also recommended supervision of applications and games children use.
“It is also extremely important to hold open and honest conversations with young people to encourage the reporting of any suspicious interactions and be able to provide support and advice,” he said.
“If someone comes to you with concerns, there are a number of online resources you can visit to learn more in this area.“
He also recommended anyone with concerns about their children online to read Netsafe’s online safety hub for parents and caregivers.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Roblox rejected police claims about sexual activity involving children. In its statement to the Times Roblox was referring to allegations contained in a Hindenburg Research financial report about allegations of activity on the site, not comment from NZ Police specifically. Amended 12.30pm 22 October 2024.