How the boss of Roblox turned a problem into a PR disaster (and why isn’t it on Australia’s age gate list?)
An ill-judged podcast interview by the CEO of Roblox has caused the platform a global PR disaster. So far, Roblox is not on the list of platforms that must block Australia’s under-16s from having an account. But that may be about to change.
Dave Baszucki during the fateful Hard Fork interview (New York Times)
Until recently, I had no real view on Roblox.
I’ve never used it, but had a vague understanding that it’s a kids-focused platform based around game building. That would not be unusual. Awareness among Australian adults is divided by whether they are parents or not. If forced to, I’d have volunteered that I had a vaguely benign impression of Roblox. Not any more.
Roblox started to loom larger on my radar as Australia’s under-16 social media ban got closer. Chances are at least half of Roblox’s users would be caught in any under-16 ban. That might well see it close its doors in Australia.
One memorable day, The Guardian published an investigation headlined “My chilling week on Roblox: sexually assaulted and shat on as a child avatar roaming the online world” and News Corp’s tabloids went after it with the front page “This is not a game”.
