Roblox ban: big government or responsible parenting?
The DICT has officially put popular sandbox game Roblox on notice as there have been increasing reports of child safety violations including sexual predation and grooming. This has sparked a lot of discussion online as to who is really responsible in keeping minors safe. It has also brought about criticism of the DICT as an agency that threatens tech companies like Telegram as political theater before backing down and reaching agreements. Is the same formula being used for Roblox?
The Facebook post reads:
DICT, CICC Warning to Roblox: Protect the Children or Get Restricted
May mga reports na ginagamit ang Roblox for sexual predation, grooming, at exploitation ng Filipino minors. Hindi na safe space kung may batang nalalagay sa panganib. (There are reports that Roblox is being used for sexual predation, grooming and exploitation of Filipino minors. The game stops being a safe space when children are put at risk.)
Sa direktiba ni Pangulo Ferdinand Marcos Jr., unahin ang proteksyon ng kabataan. Walang platform ang above sa batas pagdating sa child safety. (Under the direction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the safety of children online must be prioritized. No platform is above the law when it comes to child safety.)
Kumikilos na ang Department of Information and Communications Technology at Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center: (The DICT has now accomplished the following)
Roblox is now formally on notice
Posibleng i-restrict o i-suspend sa Pilipinas kung hindi aaksyon (The possibility of restriction of the app if Roblox fails to act)
Required ang mas mahigpit na child safety systems (Stricter child safety systems)
Dapat may full cooperation with PH authorities (Full cooperation with PH authorities)
Mas ligtas na online space para sa bawat batang Pilipino, kung saan ang laro, laro lang. Hindi panganib. Hindi pwedeng platform ang problema, pero bata ang nagbabayad. (There must be safer online spaces for children to play. Not be in danger. The platforms cannot deny accountability.)
Protect Filipino children or face consequences.
Roblox has been the poster-child of child exploitation scenarios in recent years, with the city of Los Angeles suing the gaming platform for child exploitation scams. In 2023, cybersecurity company Kaspersky flagged Roblox as an entry point for phishing scams targeting minors.
On the flipside, Roblox has also been a haven for minors to learn how to code and create meaningful communities. As the first generation of parents are finding ways to manage children in a digital-first era, Roblox has become a centerpoint in discussions due to its massive popularity. Last year Roblox logged 45 million concurrent users, a milestone in gaming. With the game being free to play and running on both desktops and phones, it’s not hard to see why this game has grown in popularity.
Who should police the children?
Roblox has had its fair share of controversy with online safety and has several rules in place. For instance, chat is not available for users that did not pass an age verification check. Sending direct messages is by default restricted for children under 9 years of age and parents have the ability to moderate these settings under parental controls. Children who chat expletives are also issued bans and parents who have access to these accounts are notified with a screenshot of the chat being saved.
But what about parental controls — not just with Roblox, but with all other platforms including Google Family Link, Minecraft, and GamePass for PC?
What tends to happen is that parents seem to be overwhelmed in general with the many settings to curate their child’s online life. A study has shown that these settings are not intuitive and very hard to use, resulting in less than half of surveyed parents who adapt these settings.
As parents weigh raising their children to build resilience online, where does the buck stop? Are safety protocols of platforms like Roblox, Facebook, and TikTok enough to keep children safe?
