Child safety campaigners in Britain today urged Ofcom to act after a bombshell report branded online game platform Roblox an ‘X-rated paedophile hellscape’.
The popular game in which young players create or play in virtual universes has been accused of exposing children to ‘grooming, pornography and violent content’.
US investment firm Hindenburg Research issued damning findings after a lengthy investigation into the controversial platform which has no set age restrictions.
Now, campaigners say the report shows UK communications watchdog Ofcom must make a ‘step change’ as it implements then enforces the Online Safety Act (OSA).
The new law is due to start coming fully into force next year, and will place new duties on social media sites for the first time. The largest and most popular, as well as those which count children among their users, are set to face the strictest rules.
Platforms must put in place and enforce safety measures to ensure that users, and in particular young people, do not encounter illegal or harmful content – and if they do that it is quickly removed, with those who break the rules facing large fines.
Among the campaign groups urging Ofcom to act is the Molly Rose Foundation – established by the parents of 14-year-old Molly Russell from Harrow, North West London, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing harmful online content.
Popular gaming platform Roblox has ‘digital strip clubs’, according to the Hindenburg study
Gaming platform Roblox has become successful with children and has 80million daily users
Roblox was accused of exposing children to ‘grooming, pornography and violent content’
Among the campaign groups urging Ofcom to act is the Molly Rose Foundation – established by the parents of 14-year-old Molly Russell from Harrow, North West London, who died in 2017
The charity’s chief executive Andy Burrows told MailOnline today: ‘Parents will be understandably shocked that a platform aimed at younger people can be so reckless with the mental health and safety of child users.
‘Ofcom will rightly be judged by whether it takes swift and comprehensive action against platforms that seem asleep at the wheel on online safety risks.’
‘This report underscores the growing evidence that child safety shortcomings aren’t a glitch but rather a systemic failure in how online platforms are designed and run.
‘The Online Safety Act remains the most effective route to keep children safe, but such preventable safety lapses will only be addressed if Ofcom delivers a step change in its ambition and determination to act.’
Roblox has become successful with young children – offering a series of different games and interactive tools, as well as the ability to create your own challenges .
But the Hindenburg study raised concerns about inappropriate links which are at a child’s fingertips when accessing the site.
The report states: ‘Core to the problem is that Roblox’s social media features allow paedophiles to efficiently target hundreds of children, with no up-front screening to prevent them from joining the platform.’
It also says there are ‘digital strip clubs, red light districts, sex parties and child predators lurking on Roblox’, which has 80 million daily users.
And Roblox was accused of being ‘an X-rated paedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech’.
Hindenburg also said it found multiple accounts named using variations of the name of disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Roblox rejected the allegations in Hindenburg’s report, insisting safety was ‘foundational’ to the company.
And Hindenburg has also stated that it is trying to profit from a fall in Roblox’s value by taking out a ‘short’ position on the company’s share price.
Online safety campaigner Beeban Kidron said the OSA should ‘significantly up the game’ on making sure there are in-built safety measures on tech platforms.
She told The Guardian: ‘Roblox is a consumer-facing product – and, in order to trade, it has to be safe for children. And it has to have by-design mechanisms that mean it does not enable predators to convene or search for children.
‘We need political will and leadership to strengthen the provisions of the OSA and a regulator willing to implement them.’
In response, an Ofcom spokesman told MailOnline: ‘The Online Safety Act will have a significant impact in creating a safer life online in the UK.
‘When the new duties come into force, platforms – such as Roblox – will be required to protect children from pornography and violence, take action to prevent grooming, remove child abuse images, and introduce robust age-checks.
‘We have set out clear recommended measures for how they can comply with these requirements in our draft codes. If platforms fail to comply when the time comes, we’ll have a broad range of enforcement powers to hold them accountable for the safety of their users.’
It comes after Colin Stitt, head of the Safer Schools campaign at INEQE Safeguarding Group, the largest independent safeguarding organisation in the UK and Ireland, urged parents to beware of potential dangers.
He told MailOnline last week: ‘The report is a stark reminder that we can’t simply assume a platform is safe for children just because it looks child-friendly.
‘Parents and carers need to be proactive and educate themselves about the potential risks their children may face online, including exposure to inappropriate content, online predators, and harmful social interactions.
‘It’s crucial for parents and carers to have open and honest conversations with their children about online safety, empowering them to navigate digital spaces responsibly.’
A Roblox spokesperson said in a statement in response to the Hindenburg study: ‘We totally reject the claims made in the report.
‘Safety and civility have been foundational to Roblox since our inception nearly two decades ago, and we have invested heavily throughout our history in our Trust and Safety efforts.
‘Every day, tens of millions of users of all ages have safe and positive experiences on Roblox and abide by the company’s community standards. However, any safety incident is horrible.
‘We take any content or behaviour on the platform that doesn’t abide by our standards extremely seriously and we have a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on our platform.’
Roblox also said that the company ‘fully’ intended to comply with the OSA.
The spokesman added: ‘Our internal teams have been assessing the obligations and have been engaging in the various consultations and calls for evidence Ofcom have published. We look forward to seeing Ofcom’s final codes of practice.’
It comes after Colin Stitt, head of the Safer Schools campaign at INEQE Safeguarding Group, the largest independent safeguarding organisation in the UK and Ireland, urged parents to beware of potential dangers.
He told MailOnline last week: ‘The report is a stark reminder that we can’t simply assume a platform is safe for children just because it looks child-friendly.
‘Parents and carers need to be proactive and educate themselves about the potential risks their children may face online, including exposure to inappropriate content, online predators, and harmful social interactions.
‘It’s crucial for parents and carers to have open and honest conversations with their children about online safety, empowering them to navigate digital spaces responsibly.’
Hindenburg Research teams investigating Roblox attempted to create accounts using names of infamous child molesters and criminals.
The Hindenburg study also claimed there are ‘sex parties’ on online gaming platform Roblox
Researchers in the US looking into Roblox found 600 hits when searching ‘Diddy’ games
Roblox was accused by Hindenburg Research of being ‘an X-rated paedophile hellscape’
They tried to set one up under the name of Earl Brian Bradley – a paedophile convicted of molesting 103 children – but found the username was already taken, along with a host of variants, including earlbrianbradley69.
There were 900 variations of the name ‘Jeffrey Epstein’, plus 600 hits when searching ‘Diddy’ games.
Some of these games were titled ‘Diddy Party’, ‘Run from Diddy Simulator’ and, separately, ‘Escape to Epstein Island.’
Youngsters on ‘child accounts’ – that is, under the age of 13 – were also able to search ‘adult’ to find inappropriate content.
According to Roblox, 21 per cent of users are under the age of nine.
Researchers have now said they were easily able to track down games and groups trading child pornography and soliciting sexual favors.
Roblox self-reported more than 13,000 incidents of child exploitation to the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children least year.
The new research refers to various high profile cases of paedophiles using Roblox to groom victims.
In Wales in 2018, a 29-year-old man was arrested for grooming 150 children via the game.
Another man was charged in New Jersey after he kidnapped an 11-year-old girl he met while playing the game – later pleading guilty to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.
Police told how Darius Matylewich took the girl from her home town after chatting on multiple gaming platforms, including Roblox .
And Arnold Castillo, 23 and also from New Jersey, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in 2023 after admitting transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and coercion and enticement of a minor.
He paid for an Uber to pick the 15-year-old girl up and bring her across state lines to his home, before sexually abusing her and trying to purchase ‘Plan B’ to ensure she did not fall pregnant.
Roblox has previously faced criticism from celebrities including ex-Brookside star Claire Sweeney, who told social media how her son was almost scammed online.
The actress revealed on X in December 2022 that seven-year-old Jaxon was playing on Roblox when she saw he had been sent a message instructing him to reveal her credit card numbers.
She posted: ‘Parents out there, anyone’s kids play Roblox? Yesterday my son was playing, and I saw on the chat in the corner,someone was asking him to go to my purse, take out my credit card and read the numbers!!
‘@Roblox seems a dangerous place for kids. Thankfully he told me!’
Roblox said in response to the criticisms: ‘We totally reject the claims made in the report’
An 11-year-old girl from Wayne in New Jersey was kidnapped and taken across state lines by 27-year-old Darius Matylewich (pictured) to Bear in Delaware, after they chatted on Roblox
Hindenburg found multiple accounts named using variations of the name of disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein (pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell in New York in 2005)
She was flooded with messages from other worried parents, while broadcaster Jeremy Vine replied: ‘Did a piece on this @BBCRadio2! Horrible stories.
‘One 13-year-old encouraged to run away from home to meet ‘a teenage girl’ who turned out to be a large man in the Czech Republic.’
Earlier that same year, Kim Kardashian threatened to sue Roblox after her son Saint, then aged six, saw an ad for her ‘unreleased’ sex tape.
The reality TV star was left shocked as she saw Saint laughing at his iPad while playing Roblox, only to see a picture of her crying face on the screen captioned with the words ‘Kim’s New Sex Tape’.
She said at the time: ‘Thank God he can’t f***ing read yet.
‘And it’s like, over my dead body is this s**t going to happen to me again. I just want it gone. This is not gonna f*** with me. It’s not, so I just want it gone.’
Roblox said it removed the room and banned its creator – and no sex tape was ever available.