Roblox is changing how preteens access the platform following reports of child endangerment

Roblox has announced it is changing the way preteens can access its platform following reports that the company failed to provide a safe online environment for children.

In an email sent from the company this week (shared by The Verge), the company claimed that it will do more to protect children in the massively popular online platform.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that US police had arrested at least 24 people since 2018 who have abducted or abused victims they met on Roblox.

The report, which Bloomberg claimed shines a light on the platform’s “predator problem”, reveals that in 2022, Roblox reported almost 3,000 incidents of child exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a figure which jumped to over 13,000 last year.

At the time, Roblox condemned the article for “glaring mischaracterisations.”

Roblox now plans to introduce a new account type that will give parents or guardians full control over what their children do on the platform.

A parent account can be linked to a child’s account and provide usage data, as well as block content.

“The updates that were shared via email are part of Roblox’s commitment to making the platform one of the safest online environments for our users, particularly the youngest users,” Roblox’s Juliet Chaitin-Lefcourt told The Verge. “We’re excited to share more information next month.”