The millions of reports made each year uniquely situate NCMEC to identify trends and create prevention resources to address the evolving needs of kids and teens online. On February 17, 2026, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr launched an investigation into Roblox following instances and reports of child exploitation. Uthmeier also sought communications to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and reports of abuse to and from Florida users cubet among other things via the subpoena.
That month, Iraq also banned the game, citing child safety and its incompatibility with “social values and traditions”. The minister emphasized that he had entered into talks with Roblox representatives in Southeast Asia and that one of the main topics of conversation was the stabbing incident that occurred in Johor that same month and how the platform has been hosting inappropriate games for minors in Malaysia. During the same period, Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysia’s communications minister, had previously confirmed to local media in October that he had noticed the platform was being used to promote violence among minors and personally banned his children from using it. In August 2025, Indonesia requested that Roblox strengthen its chat filters to remove harmful content and enhance child safety, warning that failure to comply could result in a ban. Shapak also pointed out that the platform had highly addictive elements marketed to minors, which could expose them to sexual or violent material at an early age and create certain dependencies to electronic devices. These decisions were made by the Australian government after receiving several reports of child grooming, where it was noted that the security measures imposed by the platform were not sufficient to protect minors.
“GameSafe is a must-have for any parent with gaming kids.” Dating app users are frustrated with in-app messaging. We’re Besedo and we provide content moderation tools and services to companies all over the world. Healthy communities drive deeper engagement, session length, and, yes, monetization, while toxic communities stifle all of the above. “You need compute-efficient transformer models, smart latency management, and retraining pipelines that minimize false positives and negatives in an ever-changing context.”

GameSafe App Features

Nearly 59% of players mute or block toxic users, 30% actively avoid certain communities, and 28% quit mid-game. Alarmingly, more than half (52%) of women said they stopped playing games because of harassment or toxic communities. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2023 report, 76% of adult gamers reported similar harassment experiences. Our survey revealed that nearly 78% of gamers have experienced some form of harassment online. Our research highlights gamers’ critical challenges and demonstrates why gaming platforms need stronger moderation efforts. We surveyed 2,000 American gamers aged to understand how toxicity impacts gaming.

SPECIAL SCHOOLS

Following the public backlash, senior Australian government officials called meetings with Roblox, where they indicated that if the company is unable to neutralize cases of child sexual abuse on its platform, it could face fines of A$49.5 million. In September, Roblox announced it will collaborate with International Age Rating Coalition to assign age ratings to individual games, complementing Roblox’s own ratings. Players linked with a trusted connection would have chat filters removed between each other, specifically in hopes that users would be less likely to leave Roblox for platforms they did not moderate, but could only be accessed after using an AI-based age verification system using facial recognition. They also reimplemented “experience guidelines” as “content labels” that parents could use with parental controls settings to regulate the content their child was allowed to see. On November 18, 2024, Roblox announced that they would be implementing new safety features for children under 13 set to take effect in the first quarter of 2025. Developers would also need to designate their games as meant for users under 13, otherwise their games would no longer be accessible to those users.

The kids aren’t alright

And one cannot upsell content to players who have already left. Moderating images, voice, and video content in real time requires a different architecture than batch- or queue-based moderation systems. According to Apostolos Georgakis, our CTO at Besedo, real-time, AI-driven content moderation combined with strong policy enforcement is the robust solution online gaming desperately needs. The end goal isn’t to play nanny or ruin the fun – it’s to cultivate communities where all players can have fun without fear of harassment.

• Núcleo journalists claimed that much of the platform is supported by microtransactions and uses methods to make minors addicted to online purchases to a certain extent, which can be used to abuse them.
• El Haïry also emphasized that the conversation about protecting children online should also include video games and not just social media in general.
• In the same month, Sarah El Haïry, the High Commissioner for Children (Haute-commissaire à l’Enfance), publicly stated that issues such as pedophilia and sexual harassment on the platform were causing concern among French regulators.
• In February 2026, the Egyptian Supreme Council for Media Regulation passed a statement banning access to Roblox, with concerns being “internet and social media use among children”.
• On November 6, 2025, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Roblox Corporation, alleging that the company misleadingly promoted its platform as a safe environment for children.

The same study also took notice of the genre of “hood games”, in which players roleplay as gangsters in low-class neighborhoods, for promoting prejudice and stereotypes against African Americans and those of lower socioeconomic status. However, these restrictions did not apply to advergames, leading to further criticism by Truth in Advertising and children’s digital rights organization 5Rights. The woman reported that her character slipped on a puddle and was stuck on the ground, at which point several other players roleplayed sexually assaulting her. One controversial invitee was “TheOfficiaITeddy” who, according to IGN, was involved in making games that “featured romantic, dating, and even sex-themed content” with his most popular game having hundreds of millions of plays. Bloomberg Businessweek reported the existence of forums on the dark web sharing tips on how to encourage children to contact predators offsite without detection by chat filters through the use of intentional typos and emojis.
At what age should I allow my child to play games online? There are different ways to enhance and manage your and your family’s experience when playing games online. On March 4, 2026, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers filed a lawsuit against Roblox, accusing the platform of becoming a “playground” for child predators and misleading parents and guardians about the safety precautions taken on the platform. In April 2025, Florida attorney general James Uthmeier sent a subpoena to Roblox about uses of the platform by users age 16 and under as well as the platform’s protections for children against “mature content”.

Moderation and safety updates

For younger children, opt for games that don’t require online interaction with others. Playing the game with them or watching gameplay videos together can also give you a clear idea of its content and help you decide if it’s a good fit for their age and maturity level. Research the games they want to play, checking ratings, and reading content descriptions provided on platforms like the ESRB or PEGI.
She also requested that the game’s PG rating be reviewed again by the Australian Classification Board, where it was noted that the platform hosted games intended for adults. The system requires users to either upload an ID to verify their exact age or perform a facial scan via Persona to place a person into an estimated age group. On November 18, 2025, Roblox announced that all forms of in-game chat and experiences rated “18+” on the platform would be locked behind an age verification system. In October 2025, Roblox planned revenue changes in order to expand child safety and moderation which caused the stock of the company to fall by 15 percent, though the company stated they expect a rising third quarter capital after the changes are made.
Simon denied trying to upload any images of Hitler, but admitted that he had previously been banned when he was 15 on an account with an inappropriate name he claimed was created as a joke as well as likely having used slurs in-game around the same age. Individuals taking part in these games appear to overwhelmingly identify as part of vulnerable or marginalized demographics, namely those of queer or BIPOC communities. One prominent example is MeepCity, which was infamous for number of online daters inside the game and inappropriate clothing and actions found in the “party” feature. Violative users often signal their intent through veiled messages like “abc for girl” or “abc to control me”, after which others can accept through private chat. Because such games are quickly moderated, these communities often rely on Discord servers, a third-party chat app, to alert their members when a new sex game appears.

Roblox developers are required to fill out a questionnaire which will determine the game’s maturity rating, ranging from “minimal” to “restricted”, which are only available to users who have verified they are at least 17 years old through government-issued ID. According to a 2022 report by The Weekend Australian, “dozens” of forums exist to show Roblox players how to make Nazi-inspired content without being banned, such as rearranging the colors of the Nazi flag and altering the Swastika. After Roblox requested the channel to take down the video, People Make Games released several more accusations towards Roblox, focused on an alleged lack of oversight of developers and a method for people to address developer abuse, leading to child developers being exploited for labor on third-party platforms. Some found that the platform made it very easy to purchase microtransactions, leading to numerous instances where children have spent large sums of money on the platform without parents’ knowledge.

• In August 2025, Roblox announced that social hangout games featuring private spaces, such as bedrooms or bathrooms, would only be accessible to users who have verified they are at least 17 years old through government-issued ID.
• In-game mechanics for self-expression such as user avatars, item decorations, and spray paint tools were also identified as being used to spread extremist and hateful imagery.
• We know it’s important to understand and be comfortable with the video games you and your children are playing.
• Roblox had previously clarified to the Federal Government of São Paulo that its monetization model was not abusive and that minors had previously consented to the platform monetizing their content.
• In other words, abuse has become expected – even “normal” – in many game communities, a status quo that poses serious consequences for players and the industry.
• “If users have a bad experience, whether it’s harassment in a game, scams on a marketplace, or hate speech on a social platform, retention becomes nearly impossible.

Núcleo journalists claimed that much of the platform is supported by microtransactions and uses methods to make minors addicted to online purchases to a certain extent, which can be used to abuse them. In March 2025, Roblox CEO David Baszucki said in response to concerns over child safety, “if you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox”. Sexual exploitation of minors on Roblox has been used to justify and promote the short-selling of Roblox Corporation’s stock by organizations such as The Bear Cave (which compiled a list of 16 arrests and indictments since 2020 among other instances of sexual abuse) and the investment firm Hindenburg Research. Roblox refused action towards the game, as they did not see it as a safety concern; Sonic’s owner Sega later took the game down via a copyright infringement notice after being notified. On December 13, 2021, the YouTube channel People Make Games released a video featuring an interview with an anonymous individual who maintained to be a victim of sexting with a 24-year-old Roblox game developer, who created the Sonic the Hedgehog fangame Sonic Eclipse Online, when she was 12. It cited the fact that the game hosts millions of instances of user-generated content which makes the platform difficult to classify as a whole.

First, ethically, it’s alarming that online games often have teen or even “Everyone” ratings – environments where children face such hostility. The kinds of slurs, sexual comments, and hate imagery that proliferate in some games are absolutely not what most parents want their kids to witness or endure. Recent studies show that three-quarters of teens and pre-teens (ages 10–17) experienced harassment in online games, a sharp rise from the previous year. When even seasoned adult gamers are wary of exposing children to the standard multiplayer experience, it’s a damning indictment of the status quo. We surveyed 2,000 gamers in the United States to understand how toxicity impacts online multiplayer games. As they get older, introduce more interactive games gradually, always with parental controls enabled to manage content, communication, and time spent gaming.
While Roblox is free-to-play, it features a virtual currency known as “Robux” that can be purchased with real-world money. We’re passionate about making sure it’s a super safe environment for kids to play and enjoy themselves. We watch for any act of targeting, or verbally attacking or intimidating your child. See all your child’s activity in one place. “GameSafe is a parent’s best friend in the digital age.”
Specifically, they added new parental controls options that would block direct messaging to children outside of games, by default automatically blocking of direct messages in and outside of experiences to users under 13. In 2024, “social hangout” games were restricted to players over 13 years old, and the platform implemented parental controls automatically blocking direct messages to users under 13. The safety of children on Roblox, a multiplayer game platform managed by the American company Roblox Corporation, has been the subject of much debate and controversy. That means almost 8 in 10 gamers regularly encounter insults, identity-based harassment, unwanted sexual attention, threats, or offensive content like usernames and player skins.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, some Roblox users have become “vigilante gamers” in response to Roblox’s perceived poor moderation and failure to protect children. In a Twitter thread reported on by Polygon, a woman stated that when she was investigating the Roblox games that her five-year-old child was playing, she joined a game named Public Bathroom Simulator. While not explicitly sexual, some games have been reported to feature suggestive environments that facilitate sexual or fetishistic roleplay such as vore or feet fetishes. Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system developed and managed by Roblox Corporation, built around user-generated content and games, officially referred to as “experiences”.
Throughout the 2020s, the cyber police divisions of several Mexican states have reported numerous cases of sexual harassment of minors through Roblox, including the federal government of Chihuahua, which from 2021 to 2025 reported an increase in cases of grooming using the platform. In December 2025, the Moroccan government took the first steps to moderate the platform and other online games after repeated warnings from several members of parliament who voiced their concern that the platform could be a danger to minors such as Fatima Zahra Afif. In October 2025, the Lebanese Association for Statistics, Training, and Development urged the Lebanese government to ban the video game following reports that 30% of minors in the country could be exposed to inappropriate content. This announcement was met with major backlash from parents, creators, safety advocates, and many online communities who feared it would put children at a greater risk. A 2023 study by researchers from Pennsylvania State University analyzing discussion among users of the community noted that roleplaying games aligned with prejudiced or extremist values seemed to hide or only imply their values to players, occurrences of which usually took place in military roleplaying games.