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On June 28, Amber Petersen was sitting next to her 7-year-old daughter Brooklyn in their home in Raleigh, North Carolina While she played the popular Roblox online game on her iPad. Suddenly, Brooklyn showed her mother her screen, visibly upset.
The Brooklyn Avatar – the icon that represents her in the multiplayer online gaming platform, who has blond hair and wears a t-shirt and denim shorts like Brooklyn – was badaulted badually by two male avatars on a playing field.
"At first, I could not believe what I was seeing," Petersen wrote in a Facebook post, warning other parents of what happened in Brooklyn. "Words can not describe the shock, disgust and guilt I now feel." His message, which contains explicit screenshots of the aggression in his comments, has been shared more than 6,000 times.
Roblox's answer was quick. "We have been outraged to learn that Roblox's community policies and rules of conduct have been hijacked," a Roblox spokesman said in a statement. The company permanently identified and banned the user who created the malicious code that inserted the graphics and actions of the badault into the game from their platform and suspended the game as Brooklyn was playing when that happened.
"We have identified how this bad actor has created the offending action and is putting in place additional backups to reduce the possibility that it will happen again in the future," Roblox said. "We have no tolerance for this behavior. Our work to ensure a safe platform is constantly evolving and remains a priority for us."
Roblox has nearly 70 million monthly active users of different ages. It encourages children to create their own games within the platform that allow them to have unique adventures, role plays and even build friendships that often transcend the virtual world, said TODAY Bhaumik, head of marketing and community safety.
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"One of the things that Roblox is, if you think about it, is a virtual playground," said Bhaumik. "Many kids make good friends through the game – we have so many reports from parents telling us that their kids have met their best friends through Roblox.
"We hear a lot more positive stories than negative stories about how our social characteristics allow children to explore and live experiences in the virtual world, such as making themselves new friends, "she said.
Before Petersen, 35, allowed Brooklyn to start playing Roblox, she was diligent: she and her husband Jordan adjusted the security and privacy settings on her daughter's application to protect it.
However, although the game includes security and privacy measures – especially for its younger users – nothing on the Internet is "foolproof", and users acting through mischief or malice can sometimes bypbad these obstacles.
Amber Petersen
After the 7-year-old Brooklyn avatar was attacked by two avatars, she was left face down on a playground scene. "Before that, my the biggest concern was that my daughter was exposed to inappropriate language, "said Petersen. "However, parents can adjust the settings to prevent this from happening. I did not know that it was possible for people to hack the platform and add explicit material on this particular game."
Roblox's Bhaumik explained that the trick for the company is to balance the creative part of the platform with the possibility of this kind of violation.
"We are a STEM company, we really want to encourage and inspire kids to create games and experiences," she says. "We have seen some of our young creators and developers grow into careers and monetize and pay for a university degree in engineering or computer science, which is very important to us and one of the reasons our CEO founded the company. In the first place.
Bhaumik said that the company wants to preserve the ability of young users to learn how to create games and content while tightening the structure of their platform to make it "very, very difficult for this injection of malicious code ".
In the meantime, parents can already help their children experience a safer online experience:
Make sure your child creates Roblox accounts with their exact date of birth
When a child logs in to Roblox, he logs in with his date of birth, which determines the automatic filtering mechanism on his account. have looser restrictions than those under 13 years old.
Roblox has a team of hundreds of moderators who review every downloaded image, video, or audio file used in user-generated content on the platform to make sure that it's easy. they are safe and adapted to age.
"Anything that violates our code of conduct is immediately eliminated, and moderators take the necessary steps to educate our young developers about what is appropriate or inappropriate," Bhaumik said.
In the case of the Brooklyn avatar, the game itself was not malicious, but the code that allowed the avatars to attack it in a badual way was inserted into the game by another user against Roblox's terms of use.
Using account settings to control the interaction with other players
Bhaumik suggests parents use their children's game settings, especially the privacy tab, for determine the level of conversation that they are comfortable with with their child: Talk at all, discuss only with friends, or chat with everyone who plays the game, including strangers.
Other account restrictions under the Settings tab allow parents to organize content for younger children; It is possible to eliminate any weapon more powerful than a water balloon in the game settings if the parents desire it.
Create a PIN to keep kids safe from changing their game settings.
Parents can create a PIN so their kids can not undo security settings that parents have already chosen.
Roblox
Roblox is a multiplayer online platform with nearly 70 million monthly active users of different ages. The company allows kids to create their own content and adventures and encourages them to develop their own games on the platform.
Report abuse or violations immediately
Bhaumik said that Roblox hopes to partner with parents to make the platform safer. One way to do this is to report any disruptive behavior or problematic content in the games by using the "Report Abuse" button available. Roblox also has an email address – [email protected] – so that parents or young users can report anything that is upsetting and get immediate attention.
Help your child learn to be "technology-resilient"
"While we must do everything we can to co-visualize, control and block inappropriate content, this family has learned directly that you can do it correctly. Unintentionally exposing your child to potentially harmful content, "said Dr. Deborah Gilboa, Child Development and Parent Development Specialist.
Gilboa has suggested three ways to fortify children against the unexpected online. First, she says, separates "the avatar" from the "self". "Talk with the kids about how the avatar is not them, and have them notice the differences and see that avatar as a player in the game, not like a piece of music. themselves, "she said.
Then, she says, talks about when to hit "stop". "Just like in any real situation, things can be played in online games," said Gilboa.
"Remind the children that they can" pull the emergency cord "and just close the window, turn off the TV, move away from the moment when something has happened. Scary or dangerous air.
Gilboa suggested waiting for children to be 8 years old before letting them play first-person games with online multiplayer activity.
"In terms of development, many 8-year-olds can begin to have a little objectivity about a game as different from their own reality, but before that, many children do not can not, "she said.
Petersen TODAY told the parents that she does not blame Roblox for what happened in Brooklyn. Since the incident, she talked to her daughter about what she saw and why she should be careful when playing online.
Amber Petersen
Amber Petersen, Raleigh's mom in North Carolina, wants other kids like her Brooklyn daughter, 7, to be safe playing Roblox.
"I wanted her to know that it is never right for someone to handle someone in such a way," Petersen said. "We talked a lot about the importance of always thinking about personal safety online and informing a parent or a trusted adult at all times if a suspicious situation should occur. the steps it can take to prevent strangers from knowing personal information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, etc.
Although she first wanted to remove Roblox from the Brookyn iPad forever, Petersen's emotional response disappeared. Roblox leaders have asked him to be part of their efforts to make the platform safer for young children.
"Imaginative online games such as Roblox encourage children to use creativity, and there are many other educational concepts that children can learn and explore as a result of playing," said Petersen.
"However, it is absolutely imperative for parents to research these games and apps in advance, to initiate and constantly monitor the appropriate security settings, and to educate continually their children on personal safety. "
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