This article originally appeared on vigilantfox.com and was republished with permission.
Every so often, a story comes along that’s so outrageous you can’t even fathom it being real.
Yet something deeply disturbing is happening in the Roblox universe, and everyone with a pulse needs to know about it.
Every month, 380 million users log into Roblox, a massively popular mobile and console game among children.
The platform boasts more custom-made games from users than you could ever count, giving Roblox virtually infinite replayability. However, some of these custom games have become a magnet for child predators.
A horrific example is XYZ Public Bathroom Simulator, a game where it is commonplace to see naked avatars (predators) showering with kids.
That’s “the whole premise of the game,” according to 22-year-old Roblox YouTuber Schlep.
7.4 million users (mostly children) have been exposed to filth. And it’s still widely available for anyone to join.
Schlep has been exposing how “there are so many predators” on the Roblox platform that “it is actually unreal.”
“And parents aren’t aware of this,” he warns.
“I get emails from kids daily about all the horrible stuff that they’re exposed to. I get emails from parents talking about what their kids were exposed to.”
“If I were a parent… I would be outraged.”
According to Schlep, his efforts have even led to the arrests of six different child predators over the past year, something he says law enforcement is glad when people give them this information.
Here’s one of those arrests in action.
How did Roblox respond to Schlep helping get child predators on their platform arrested?
The company sent him a cease and desist letter and terminated all his accounts—a glaring example where reporting a crime is punished more harshly than the crime itself.
I urge you to take less than two minutes out of your day to listen to the full video.
According to IndiaTimes, Roblox accused Schlep of “sharing or soliciting personally identifiable information.”
Schlep was gobsmacked and wondered if Roblox was referring to the practice of turning over the information of predators to police. “Like, does Roblox understand that?” he asked.
Schlep defended his actions, saying his efforts were in good faith and aligned with the “same tactics” used by law enforcement.
Schlep has drawn overwhelming community support, with most users siding with him over Roblox. On r/games, one Redditor delivered a scathing statement on the Schlep case, receiving the most upvoted comment:
“History has proven again and again [that] it’s infinitely easier for corporations to silence and censor whistleblowers than actually work on fixing whatever issue they’re bringing attention to. Roblox doesn’t have a child predator issue if no one’s able to report on it. The fact [that] his [Schlep’s] investigations led to six actual arrests made by the police acting on outside evidence is proof enough his efforts aren’t misguided.”
IndiaTimes also reported that, when Schlep was younger, he was groomed by a Roblox developer—hence why he is so determined to expose child predators.
His mother filed a complaint with Roblox, but “they brushed her off, and the predator continued abusing others for years before being banned.”
Schlep was so traumatized by the experience that he even made an attempt on his life.
That happened under David Baszucki’s watch, who has been Roblox’s CEO for 21 years now.
He has been oddly silent on the Schlep fiasco.
In March of this year, he brushed off parents’ concerns about safety, saying, “If you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox.”
While Baszucki has been quiet, Roblox has been attempting to justify nuking Schlep’s accounts and condemning vigilante justice against child predators.
But the backlash has been fierce, with Roblox even receiving a community note on their X post stating they have a “known history of being ineffective” at keeping their game safe from child predators.
The optics have gotten so bad for Roblox that American lawmakers are now getting involved.
On Wednesday, Rep. Ro Rhanna (D-CA) issued a public statement, condemning Roblox for “not doing enough” to protect kids from child predators.
He called on Americans to sign this petition on his website.
The goal is to get a million signatures by Friday “to push Roblox to do more to protect our children and to prosecute predators.”
If you’re a parent or Roblox user, I urge you to sign Rep. Khanna’s petition and uninstall Roblox from your devices.
Roblox has chosen to be a safe space for predators over children, and nothing teaches a company a lesson better than hitting them where it hurts—their wallets.
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