(NewsNation) — A Roblox executive says there’s no end-all solution when it comes to online safety for children after the company has received backlash from parents across the country.
“I think these questions are very normal, natural questions from parents who want to understand and better control how their kids are living their online lives,” Nicky Jackson Colaco told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas.
The online gaming platform has come under scrutiny from many who allege it has not done enough to protect underage users from sexual predators. Roblox is also facing legal action because of the backlash.
In one lawsuit, a father of two says despite the platform’s parental controls, an alleged sex offender posing as a 16-year-old befriended his son in a game. The offender offered his son Roblox gift cards in exchange for sexually explicit photos, which his son sent via Discord.
Kentucky and Louisiana are also suing Roblox, accusing the company of harming children. Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, filed a criminal subpoena seeking information from the company last month. Earlier this month, Texas filed a complaint against the platform for allegedly exposing children to sexually explicit content and exploitation.
Roblox has also been hit with 10 lawsuits in California for negligence, a lack of sufficient safety features, and inadequate vetting.
“We want Roblox to be the safest place on the Internet,” Colaco said. “I think that our goal is really to continue that mission that we started, which is to protect young children and to, in a way, lead the industry.”
New safety measures for users to feel safe, comfortable: Roblox exec
Roblox recently announced new steps to enhance the safety of its 150 million users daily.
The measures include age checks using facial recognition software, and users scanning a selfie to chat, which will then put them in a chat with others their age.
“It’s safe. It’s private. It’s very accurate,” Colaco said.
“We want people to feel really comfortable with this simple and accurate check that will allow kids to continue talking to kids and make sure that they’re in a walled garden so they can’t have conversations with unknown strangers or adults.”
Colaco added that Roblox has introduced more than 145 new safety tools in the last year.