Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper.

Watch both People Make Games video about Roblox and try to argue that the company should not deserve all the public controversy it is getting. They are actively stalling any moderation and protection because their profit margin would be severely diminished. Children's safety versus money, the choice is oh so simple. link ▶ this video

The YouTube channel "People Make Games" has a couple of reports that I'd suggest parents consider watching first before going down that road: * "Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers": link * "Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper.": ▶ this video

People Make Games is one of the YouTube channels that I respect in this domain... Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers - link Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. - ▶ this video

Some interesting related investigation (I think they mention this girl in the second video) related to roblox is anyone is interested. I had never used it, but after seeing these I don't think I would ever use it or encourage anyone to use it. link ▶ this video

There are two video investigations from People Make Games into economic aspects of Roblox in particular child labor/exploitation and monopolistic aspirations via platform capitalism. 1. Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers ( link ) 2. Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. ( ▶ this video )

Like most adults, most of what I know about Roblox comes secondhand from the media. Recently I saw[1] a pretty damning video about Roblox's lack of moderation and exploitation of its users. My basic perception at this point is that TikTok, Facebook, and Roblox all deserve each other. Hopefully they waste their money attacking each other until they mutually self-destruct. [1] ▶ this video

To add, there is a nice documentary here[1] which also has a followup[2] that show even more of the issue at hand. Kids making games and only getting 24.5% of the profit is one thing, but everything else that Roblox does is much worse. [1] link [2] ▶ this video

The 'People Make Games' videos discuss this: ▶ this video Essentially, Roblox has made the decision that they are only responsible for interactions that happen on their platform. Parents may be letting their children develop games thinking that it's a cute hobby. Roblox knows that there are game companies wooing child devs and doing shady stuff that can be potentially harmful to them. They are not doing anything to stop the practices because they aren't technically on their platform . But the whole interaction is around making games for their platform. So they may potentially not be legally be at fault, but it does seem that they are making a lot of money, albeit indirectly, from turning a blind eye to companies extracting labor from young people, and in some cases abusing them. As a parent who is a developer and has kids who love Roblox, I think it's important that the situation be discussed and not swept under the rug. I like the idea of being able to develop and extend and open world like Roblox. I also think that when you market to kids, you have to meet a higher bar of responsibility in protecting them.

> Tech sufferers greatly from a "God Complex" syndrome, and it's exactly what will prevent it from getting better. I saw an excellent critique of Roblox the other day, which covered many aspects of their business and different kinds of abuse which are happening in and around their game. The most bizarre part was that they sent some questions to the company - and the company responded by saying they “clearly weren’t being objective” and essentially gaslighting the people making the video. I think the people in charge of Roblox seriously don’t see themselves as holding any sort of responsibility to the broader society that pays their bills. It’s like someone watched The Corporation and thought - “oh companies can get away with sociopathic behaviour? I want in!”. Doing harm to the world in the name of your bottom line doesn’t make you clever. It makes you the villain. (Video in question: ▶ this video )

Roblox turns a blind eye to child exploitation (whether being creeped on by adults, or being exploited by teens/adults to make games) and makes a fortune out of it. If it weren't online, it'd be illegal and people would be in jail. link ▶ this video

Remember, Roblox is toxic and exploits young people. - Roblox Isn't a Game | Psychology Today // link - Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers - YouTube // link - Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. - YouTube // ▶ this video Roblox is Darker Than You Think (ft. Ruben Sim) - YouTube // link

The article doesn't even directly mention Schlep link whom Roblox kicked off the platform for catching pedophiles. Roblox Is Threatening to Sue Me For Protecting Kids (Schlep) link Roblox, Take a Seat (ft: Chris Hansen) link #freeschlep It was awesome seeing the kids on Roblox revolt against Baszucki for doubling down on supporting pedophiles. The leadership team at Roblox is so entirely tone deaf, if I were the the board, I'd remove them all. I watched Baszucki and This is in addition to the money laundering and dystopian hellscape that is the whole game publishing platform that has been documented here on hn. Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers link Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper. ▶ this video My own child says that no parent should allow their child on Roblox. Smart kid.