Have you heard about the Roblox controversy? No? I’ll tell you about it then. The controversy is with the sexual predators who have been using the custom animation feature on Roblox to create inappropriate frames of animation.
And using these frames, sexual predators created a kissing animation, hugging animations, and many others that I can’t go into in great detail. Soon, other adult players noticed this happening and decided to try to put an end to the sexual behavior by making new accounts to call out anyone who engaged in sexual behavior with the report button. And that is all vigilantes can do besides suing Roblox, as the rest is completely out of their hands, as the report button doesn’t seem to be doing anything to stop these other players, as far as anyone could see.
But soon, the company that owns Roblox learned about these vigilantes and started banning them for reasons that did not make sense, as Roblox only saw the vigilantes as rule breakers who needed to be stopped, while sexual predators got off scot-free without a care in the world.
Additionally, this action prompted many YouTubers to discuss the subject on their channels, as they are likely to complain about how Roblox is not taking sufficient action to address the predator problem. There is one YouTuber known as Andrew, who was the one who sneaks on Roblox servers to try to report sexual predators on any given server he could find, which soon led to Roblox becoming aware of Andrew and deciding to do something about this behavior to stop it. This led to Roblox trying to take this to court, but it failed.
Roblox soon released an article explaining that they thank the players who report predators, but warn them that being a vigilante could lead to the ban of their account on Roblox or result in a fine. But the final nail in the coffin would have to be that they’re relying on their “advanced AI” to take care of the predators, and this AI, they said, would fix the problems that have done nothing to actually solve them.
Let’s recap everything that has unfolded so far and what we’ve learned. First, random individuals from around the globe have been joining Roblox game servers to report sexual predators who attempt to engage in inappropriate behavior in front of children. These vigilantes use the in-game report button to take action, while a YouTuber named Andrew found himself in court, summoned by Roblox in an effort to silence him—but he didn’t back down. This situation prompted Roblox to publish an article expressing their gratitude for the vigilantes’ assistance, but they urged them to cease their actions, insisting that their “advanced AI” was equipped to handle the predators. However, this plea hasn’t deterred the vigilantes; they continue their efforts, questioning the effectiveness of the report button itself.
Overall, I have to say Roblox is one at fault here since they are refusing to take any measures that really deal with the problem.