Roblox Is Exploiting Kids. We Talked To Some Of Them.

[@moreperfectunion]

A clarification: In the video, we say that Roblox takes 70% of game sales before developers cash out. Roblox does take roughly 70% of the cut of game earnings (sometimes more), but only part of this is taken before the developer cashes out. Roblox takes a 30% cut of gamepass sales, and then 2/3 of the remainder upon cashing out. Additionally, Roblox takes 70% of Robux earned through marketplace purchases.

[@joshkalpupki1649]

Aw, that's cute. Lets not add any notes or edits to the video! Yall know nobody is going to look at these comments. You don't care about actual factual reporting. If yall actually did care, you would actual perform research into the platform before making these malicious assumptions! You didn't even dive into what the cut is used for!

[@franki1990]

@@joshkalpupki1649 Still child labor, though, I get the feeling that you're not even mad about that...

[@joshkalpupki1649]

@@franki1990 Please explain how Roblox is utilizing Child Labor? Is Minecraft, Fortnite, KZbin, etc. using Child Labor? All of them, including Roblox, allows children to create things. Roblox doesn't employ anyone, instead other developers on the platform do. Blame the other developers if a Child is being exploited. I am absolutely disgusted how many developers on the platform take advantage of others, including children. This video completely misrepresents the problem

[@joshkalpupki1649]

@@franki1990 Also, I am sorry if I am coming off harsh. I am just really annoyed how often the media purposefully misrepresents issues in favor of attention and money. I am not blind to the issues of Roblox, there are a ton of things Roblox should work on, however it's not the slave-labor, money stealing, exploit ring that PMG and this Video portray it to be.

[@LyritZian]

@@joshkalpupki1649 Can you quit whining? Every single reporter on the planet makes mistakes. They didn't originally omit this detail out of bad faith or malice, and if they truly _didn't_ care about facts like you so heavily insist, then they wouldn't have even made this comment and _pinned it._

[@tayzonday]

Not just Roblox. Much of what games and other Internet businesses call “engagement” is actually unpaid labor. They are just theoretically slick in calling it demand, key performance indicators, etc. But lipstick on the exploitation pig is still a pig.

[@R_A_3000]

Tay always dropping knowledge like chocolate rain. 😎👍

[@AdobadoFantastico]

Nice after all these years to still see you around leaving based comments.

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

Based

[@toriitoraa]

based tay back at it

[@PauLtus_B]

I agree. But don't be so mean about pigs.

[@ShadowDrakken]

70% off the top, and another 66% when you cash out, means Roblox is keeping 90%. Sounds like SecondLife.

[@armorclasshero2103]

Where do you think he got the idea?

[@BabzaiWWP]

yet their servers still just dont work

[@kaishtakeitizen8304]

I haven't made a sale on SL for a while since I quit. But last I checked they weren't ANYWHERE close to this. Roblox is just fucking insane. When I saw what they were charging my jaw dropped. There's no way any grown adult would agree to this and that's the point.

[@Cynlixal]

Wow! Are you saying Roblox takes a cut out of your earnings to compensate for the thousands of pages of free documentation, server hosting, apis, game management, and other services they provide regardless if your game is a success or not? Wow, so greedy…

[@mystictortoise5404]

Don't forget the cut they take out when a user pays another: thats another 15-20% cut.

[@Veltrosstho]

Not only do you have to worry about this, but the amount of predators on these types of games is ASTOUNDING. Go pretend to be a kid, you'll be tripping over them.

[@guerillamask42]

It's wild how many people are blissfully unaware and are perfectly fine with their kids talking to whoever unsupervised

[@BabzaiWWP]

@@guerillamask42 and then they want the government to do something about it

[@dominicfucinari1942]

If I was in charge of a child, I'd recommend against them ever signing up for Roblox, but I'd still feel powerless to actively stop them from going. I wonder what could possibly dissuade someone from registering there.

[@guerillamask42]

@@dominicfucinari1942 introduce them to better quality games?

[@StarSkies-]

my 10 year old sister had a man asking her for inappropriate videos

[@DeannaTroyTravels]

That 8 yr old is so smart “Adults type faster than kids” That blew my mind!🤯 He’s so right and I’ve never heard that as a safety tip before!

[@elainelouve]

Yes! I was amazed too.

[@heyguysitsmegoku]

Not really true, there could be a child that was typing fast. It's possible.

[@Kkksksjsjsjsjsjsj]

Yeah for kids that are like under 10 my little sister Types so hard and fast I can hear her from the other room 💀

[@ChildEmpreror]

I'm 13 and I can type very fast too

[@Plsrateeight]

I've never heard such an idiotic boomer take before in my life.

[@cliveklg7739]

Started writing to senators about this. This is basically reviving company script in online labor, which SHOULD be illegal.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

Thank you. Me too.

[@starvedeggmanissocool]

Nah moneys money

[@tobyconoley5511]

They aren't forced to do it and it actually opens up huge opportunitys to anyone that makes a successfull game. Also if this is child labour then kids that develop games for Unity or Unreal Engine not child labour as well?

[@cliveklg7739]

@@tobyconoley5511 Wow you are delusional.

[@fica1137]

Roblox should ban children from making games

[@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehr]

holy shit, they make you pay to advertise or your game is guaranteed to fail, plus they steal 70%?!?! that should just be straight up illegal, especially in a kids game.

[@SirRichard94]

They take 90% 70% then 66% amounts to 90% assuming they do cash out. But most likely it'll stay on the system

[@smnbrgss]

US Government too old to understand. They can’t wrap their heads around the basics of computers, until there’s more Millenials & Gen Z in the federal government nothing’s probably gonna happen.

[@CombustableLemon]

You don’t have to make ads. Most don’t, because people have Adblock or just ignore ads. You can advertise in groups (which is free). People can also see your game when searching for something.

[@MyGameMaster]

@@SirRichard94 thats just a straight-up lie. 30% from transactions and 65% during devex. 200,000,000,000 robux were cashed out.

[@MyGameMaster]

They don't make you advertise your game. The majority of current front page games didn't. They either got popular through TikTok videos or because they had good terms in the name and description. Same as KZbin. Have you looked into what the 70% is for? It makes sense when you dig into it.

[@MrSrgdrum]

Educated by the factory school to shop at the company store. That's America.

[@logans3365]

That’s capitalism

[@josephyoung6749]

ironically mass consumerism only really took off only once americans reached the point where they can only purchase all this stuff with debt and not actually afford it: 1970's-1990's

[@robertmsoares]

@@logans3365 Yeah... that's America.

[@stevechance150]

​@@logans3365unrestrained, buyer beware, profit above all else, American Capitalism.

[@logans3365]

@@robertmsoares America and capitalism are not a package deal, it only seems that way now because capitalism is so deeply rooted in America, but it could be removed without removing America itself.

[@kaseywahl]

In case it wasn't clear, we're already living in the dystopian future that we thought our far-flung fears would never allow.

[@R_A_3000]

Yeah this world is getting closer to the movie surrogates mix in with mad max.

[@JamesTDG]

​@@R_A_3000mad Max had more freedom for its people than us!

[@AkweliParker]

The CEO was referencing Westworld like it was a *good* thing 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@momsbluedress]

@@AkweliParkerpar for the course for CEOs in tech companies. Reference classic sci-fi literature but stop short of the societal warnings. Their sole focus lies in “golly! Look at all the shiny gizmos!”

[@AkweliParker]

@@momsbluedress nailed it!

[@gustavsturksteinwall4027]

Dave’s “solutions” are literally the most “billionaire CEO that doesn’t care about his workers” shit imaginable.

[@spingleboygle]

dave’s problem: people are exploiting literal 5 year olds and are exposing them to inappropriate content. dave’s solution: kill the dude who misspelled guy

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane..

[@sau7255]

​@@spingleboygleI'm sorry I can't stop laughing at this comment 😂

[@ImAPersonHehehehaw]

I agree lol

[@GoofySlugpup]

​@@spingleboygle also dave's solution: take every singular cent worth of stuff you earned or paid for by terminating your account, just because you said "hi", or "hello".

[@j.frankparnell6195]

Just the CEO's comment on whether nudity would ever be allowed on the platform, shows you just how out of line this company is.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

I agree. We are DOOMED.

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane..

[@robo_t]

They recently said at their conference that they want 17+ dating experiences to be possible on Roblox. They're pushing it to be something bigger, something that both kids and adults can play and socialize on. Of course that means more people on Roblox, more people spending their time and money on Roblox.

[@ImAPersonHehehehaw]

As a Robloxian, David Baszuki is like a dictator.

[@lndozois]

I am a game developer, I have crunched. I’ve overworked due to my “passion”. The original PMG vid made me cry. So did this recap. I come from a generation of devs who are just now unlearning this toxic “passion exploitation” mindset and trying to instil a greater awareness of it in our junior colleagues… and here comes Roblox, undermining these efforts and sowing the seeds of exploitation in kids. Friggin’ kids!

[@gn2b445]

both of these videos are bullshit, Roblox is already at its limits with how much it can pay their developers. no kid is being forced, if they don't like the pay, go somewhere else. plenty of developers on Roblox make a sizable amount.

[@callumfinlayson-palmer8393]

All you need is a passionate person and funding. But we have a middle man in companies who find a way to make a profit off of your work.

[@jstmrrn]

I saw this title and knew I had watched something similar a while ago. It was the original People Make Games video you mentioned. Thanks!

[@user-nm9qd6bo6h]

man i bet if you're good enough for roblox development you're ready for 'real' development, do your own thing man

[@lndozois]

@@user-nm9qd6bo6h oh! Hahaha! Thx thx, but you misunderstood. I AM a game developer of 20 plus years. I meant to say that I’ve seen how my industry will pray on young people’s passion by overworking them and it’s sad to see Roblox, basically, priming a whole new crop of young folks to be exploited. Thanks for the reply ^_^

[@BongoSeason]

I feel like I sound crazy when I casually bring this up to people but I’m glad it’s being talked about more broadly. Kids out here getting exploited digitally for their labor.

[@PureMagma]

It would be amazing if a class-action lawsuit forced the company to compensate all the children who they capitalized on... as well as the ones who were hazed by other users.

[@dominicfucinari1942]

If there's one thing that looks like a good piece of evidence against Roblox in court, it's their "earn serious cash" claim. But a misleading marketing tactic might only be worth so much in a settlement.

[@kemanorel3110]

The Roblox fans that fiercely defend the platform just boggle my mind because they just don't realize they're being exploited so egregiously. The people caught in the system can't see what's going on and it really feels like you have to be outside to see it for what it is.

[@randombrokeperson]

And the sad part is that it isn’t just Roblox that is exploiting children for money smh. We need laws protecting kids on all digital platforms. And we also need more sites that are strictly for children because adults (all, not just certified pervs) ruin everything for them by always trying to introduce XXX and depressive topics to websites they infiltrate/take over (like they did with TikTok).

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane..

[@Mugiwara2k]

That kid was really smart to be observant about if it’s an adult or kid who he’s talking to, based on how fast they type. Roblox is just a horrid tumor that needs to be excised out of existence.

[@dukeofrodtown1705]

💯%!

[@weirdfish1216]

i was gonna say the same thing

[@GrantSR]

And now all the predators will allow down their typing.

[@AngelSBolander]

@@GrantSR I was thinking the exact thing.

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

​@@GrantSRVery few of them will watch this video so there's no danger of that, but not every kid is as smart as this one. Roblox should be shut down.

[@senselessplace]

The CEO of roblox did NOT immediately respond with NO, when asked if nudity would be allowed on this site aimed at the ages 6-16 O_O . it seems that there are no safeguards in place for the children who use the site.

[@colagamers2649]

Oh fuck

[@khali-seaweed2]

Roblox veteran here, been on the platform since 2012, you're right there are 0 safeguards. The moderation is so bad many creeps can easily get to kids without a hassle

[@RaidenKunii]

Btw now they’re making it available to online date. The game who was most notorious for being against online dating is now making it easier for predators to prey on children,

[@khali-seaweed2]

@@RaidenKunii Thats what scares me the most to be honest. They can try to lock it behind the 17+ features all they want but kids arent stupid. They can bypass that system and they will because they want all the cool new features that 17+ has. They are putting themselves in so much danger by doing this. Roblox is already a dangerous place for kids to be in and these updates only make it worse, I want the moderation system to step up so badly and deplatform all of these creeps but we both know that ain't gonna happen

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane..

[@darkwing3713]

Addiction is at the heart of this. None of this works without businesses' favorite customer loyalty strategy. One thing that creeps me out about this CEO is his plans for the future - he wants so badly to hang onto his victims. I hope these kids someday break out of this cycle of addiction and exploitation. Considering the kind of perversion and violence they've been exposed to, this CEO should be very afraid of that day.

[@Grant_Scarboro]

You should see what China has done. While I feel their solution is a bit much, it does the job well.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

@@Grant_ScarboroChina is not really a role model to anyone. The reason kids got addicted is because they lost community. Same here, I think…

[@gingeralice3858]

I notice one very common shared trait between fellow ex-users of this website I loved as a kid, Neopets, which also contained a lot of strikingly similar issues brought up about Roblox in this video. They are often "terminally online" Twitter addicts, still creating tons digital artwork and making code but now on a professional scale and while some are at least getting paid real money in commission via PayPal, etc, they are charging way below industry standard for their skill level, for sure. I also see these people engaging in ridiculous multi day long arguments on Twitter over really NOTHING, just like people used to back on the boards in Neopets, only then it was heavily monitored. Even with the censorship, I remember that users could be absolutely brutal to each other, and seeing how this toxic behavior has evolved in Twitter threads is really depressing.

[@charlesbwilliams]

Absolutely love this collaboration

[@corntastrophy]

I used to be a developer on Roblox. I made maps for the Ultimate Driving Universe, specifically in Iowa (known as Pleasant Valley). Back when I cashed out in 2018, before I left UD (which seeing what it is now, thank god), 100,000 Robux was worth about 350 dollars. My game had regular 20 players a day, and it took about 3 to 5 months to be able to qualify for it again. Ultimate Driving was then bought out by Gamefam, who has literally been known to exploit their workers recently, and its creator has gone on to say how its developers were 'useless' and ignored all criticisms from the community to push towards child gambling implemented into the game. Now it is practically a dead game, and I imagine both the creator, and some of the people on Gamefam who worked on these maps, are reaping the reward somewhere.

[@jakobsmith4046]

This entire Roblox system sounds like capitalism for children.

[@MUZUKUN-YT]

It used to not be like this. Before 2015, there was a free system called Tickets, and you could use it to transfer that to robux or get some nice hats and shirts. Unfortunately, they got rid of this daily ticket feature. Now everything is reliant on real money.

[@logans3365]

@@MUZUKUN-YTthat’s how capitalism is too, it starts out great, but then the good slowly gets replaced with bad so that you don’t notice enough to get angry.

[@MUZUKUN-YT]

@@logans3365 😔😔 unfortunately true.

[@dukeofrodtown1705]

@@logans3365 Couldn't have put that better myself.

[@WarrenPeaceOG]

It began with good intentions that were sold to an evil corporation

[@Toribell1928]

“I’m okay with the $20 or the $5” that kid is so precious and smart. I’m glad he’s got a good head on his shoulders and a good environment even if the game is still totally messed up. And seeing the trust between him and his dad is nice.

[@System_AHHHH]

I love this comment.

[@nemoianpaw9929]

I'm okay with you spending twenty on my exploitation daddy. Something sick bout that.

[@ourmobilehomemakeover662]

What’s infuriating is that these opportunities to learn and create could actually be great for kids. If only it was not being run by profit seeking assholes. Capitalism ruins everything.

[@dominicfucinari1942]

And what's Baszucki (sp?) planning to buy with almost 2 Gigadollars?

[@A-Letter]

Oh it's much worse than that. On the platform, devs are prone to taking advantage of talents by pulling the rug on group access and shutting them out with no compensation for their work by revoking payouts, and there's typically not a peep from Roblox themselves about stepping in to mediate on the practice despite setting up a common platform for these parties to coalesce. Most interactions between parties happen off the platform on Discord due to the Roblox app being not up to par for the job to facilitate long-form professional messaging and communication. I expect Roblox to come out in the future and wash their hands of any responsibility due to pretty much most developer-talent activity happening off-site and therefore being an easy out to avoid having to lift a finger, even for predators which Roblox is notorious within the community for not acting on. God forbid you're a valid employee of one of the larger studios on the platform that you could just take to court to dispute an employment claim and not just one of the many contractors working for a young small dev as a child yourself with zero knowledge of how to navigate labor law. It's an environment that dangles a promising carrot of praise and earnings which conditions kids to expect low pay and high pressure in the place where they should be using their efforts for their formative learning years in a productive and rewarding way which instead moulds them into abused future corporate drones. As you said, an opportunity but completely muddled for capital gain.

[@haggielady]

It's not capitalism, IT'S GREED!

[@ashisalrtaken]

Capitalism has blindspots. You can't say it ruins everything. It's the entire reason we are w ell off today.

[@dominicfucinari1942]

@@ashisalrtaken Capitalism under Maynard Keynes might've made us better off, likely (though not completely sure), but not under Milton Friedman and Charles Koch.

[@physetermacrocephalus2209]

The kids love roblox. LOVE roblox. It makes the popularity of things like Halo, COD and WoW look fringe.

[@JM-zg2jg]

Which is wild how low standards have become, because Roblox sux.

[@SirRichard94]

Roblox is good. I don't play it but I see the appeal. The bad part is how they take 90% of the profit

[@cantthinkofaname5046]

The kids aren’t dumb for liking roblox. Its pretty simple on why that is. It’s because roblox is a platform where you can get millions of at least decently made games for entirely free. If you know how to dodge those shitty pay to win games, you get plenty of genuinely well made games. There are Entire horror maps, games that are simple but well designed arcade style mini games, some VR games oddly enough, absurdist dark comedy games for older kids, and all for free. Kids only get so much allowance and game prices are ballooning. Why waste money on one AAA game when you could have 80 games for free that at least aren’t the same COD game again. It’s also extremely easy to sync up with friend to play it and it consistently runs well on most platforms. If a kids parents can’t afford a high end computer, they can still probably play roblox smoothly on a toaster at some.point. I’m an adult now, I can afford to splurge on games and get more meaningful experiences, but I grew up with roblox from 2008-2017, I still hop on every once and a while with my friends who also grew up with the platform. Kids are smarter than we realize, the can tell that normal games are expensive

[@AisarShamsul]

​@@JM-zg2jgAre you kidding me?

[@GreenRobotCat_R4702]

Bro seriously just compared chocolate to 💩!

[@Blastnet_DanHarris]

What an absolute banger of a video! As a former Canadian Legislator (2011-2015) I was one of only a few Members of Parliament that had grown up with the internet, been a gamer since mid-90s and worked in/ understood Technology. That hasn't improved much sadly and videos like this which I'm sharing far an wide and critical towards boosting understanding of what's going on online. There is really a divide that needs to be bridged, so thanks for this video!

[@guerillamask42]

👏👏👏

[@kacyos_kleyton]

fds o governo

[@renanfelipedossantos5913]

So a child can cash out U$100 after they've made U$900+ for Roblox. It's essentially a game plantation.

[@Sunnybunnypi]

Honestly that ratio is pretty on par with typical exploitation of the American worker

[@johnbash-on-ger]

@@Sunnybunnypi It's teaching them about the 'adult' capitalistic world!

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane..

[@AstupidHunter]

Bro💀 do you think some random 6 year old gonna cash out?

[@dandinzin]

@@AstupidHunterThis is the best case scenario

[@thesun6211]

It's kinda cool that kids can dip their toes in game design, but the degree of exploitation here is disgusting. If the feds can shut down Silk Road, why isn't there more effort put towards identifying and arresting the spearphishers and other scammers on the platform, at least?

[@MrIndiemusic101]

Because unlike Silk Road Roblox is a company traded on the stock market. Who knows probably a pension fund somewhere is probably invested in it. Unless it's financial fraud or some other crime that harms the investor class the captured feds aren't gonna do anything.

[@justinfowler2857]

I loved playing video games as a kid. I hesitate to introduce my kids to video games. Video games are no longer a game of skill. Rather they're endless micro-transactions. The biggest winners are the ones who spend the most real cash for fake things online. Sigh...

[@TheManinBlack9054]

It just sounds like you are not really aware of the current gaming scene. There are plenty of fun games out there where you dont have to pay microtransactions. Example: Shovel Knight

[@-starrysunrise-2908]

Indie Games are where to go!

[@ElderStatesman]

Really hoping games like Baldur's Gate 3 can turn the tide on this trend of exploitative games/services. Roblox (in my mind as an experienced gamer) is a mesh between Dreams and Axie Infinity. The former was a platform for creating your own games and is sadly closed down. Axie Infinity has the same structure of players earning scrip from fighting Pokémon-like creatures and are told "will give them revenue." Line Goes Up is a great film to watch on KZbin to see how predatory cryptomining games are. To see it being turned on kids wanting to learn how to code is beyond disgusting.

[@treyebillups8602]

There's still games that are fun and engaging without being cash grabs. Like the other commenter said there's a whole world of indie games out there that are made either not for profit or for a fixed price and where the devs actually care about making a good game

[@melelconquistador]

Yeah. It's about gate keeping our kids from the wrong games. We shouldn't be encouraging vapid consumerism in the first place. If the game alsi promotes gambling, it is also not a game worth letting them play.

[@Radhaun]

I feel like this problem runs hand-in-hand with the legal system basically refusing to acknowledge that children are people. Our legal system still treats anyone under the age of 18 (16 under very special circumstances) as an object or property rather than a person, which makes it exceedingly difficult to ensure they have proper rights.

[@ampersignia]

It doesn’t take a lot to not exploit children and they couldn’t even do that.

[@MyGameMaster]

So what should they do to not exploit children? I wanna hear what people have to say

[@YourMom-rg5jk]

Yes I'm curious about your solution(s).

[@PlazDreamweaver]

​@@MyGameMasterIf you can't run a company without exploiting children, you shouldn't be running a company at all. Period. Bring your astroturfing somewhere else.

[@MyGameMaster]

@@PlazDreamweaver Maybe I worded it wrong. What should Roblox change, or what should they have done different from the beginning?

[@mydzy]

​@@MyGameMaster Roblox is worth literal billions. I think they can manage paying out their creators a little more than 1/3 of their paycheck... Also lower the minimum payout amount - making kids work for virtual money because realistically they can never cash out is so exploitative. Set a minimum wage if you want to contract someone on the website - it definitely raises the bar for game making, but it would teach kids what their work is actually worth so they don't get exploited in the future. That's all I've got from the top of my head but I'm sure some smarter people could come up with way more. It's really not that hard to even out the playing field for everyone and make millions instead of billions lol

[@jamalgibson8139]

I love how the answer to labor problems today is just, "AI." There's no way that AI is going to be able to take over the work of millions of people building different stories and concepts and it's insane to me that these people are even trying. Also, how exactly does that CEO think he's going to get 17-30 year olds to play that game? I'm pretty sure he's legitimately insane if he thinks Roblox will ever be "cool" for older teenagers and young adults. It's like Wal-Mart saying they want to make their store more attractive, it's not going to happen.

[@coololds]

On the plus side, apparently the IRS is about to start using AI to actually audit the rich. So there's that.

[@cericat]

There's plenty of adults that do, some of the more popular Roblox games have been running for around a decade with the same dev still working on them ie Murder Mystery 2 was launched in 2014. And there's some players that play with their kids or just like some of the games. But yeah the primary audience is intended to be juveniles so WTF Dave.

[@AnonymousThrowaway2]

@@cericat a popular ROBLOX game i played as a kid was work at a pizza place in 2008 - it’s STILL popular today :O

[@cericat]

@@AnonymousThrowaway2 so realistically if the original dev is still on it (since there was a time we could transfer games to others/groups that ended a few years back) they're probably closer to their 30s or actually older. A situation that will continue to increase as some of the game teams have stuck together a long time already since as bad as the payout rate is they still have a running game that's popular.

[@AnonymousThrowaway2]

@@cericat yeah

[@jerseymikes1506]

Really good work here. Loved that you prominently featured kids who are involved in the game and not some random "experts."

[@SteelRiderCarl]

I really feel as if all of our efforts as a society are being focused on the wrong things.

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane.. if we continue to allow this, it will only get worse

[@AnonymousAnarchist2]

its past time for general unions. And people of ALL ages should absolutly be gaurenteed the ability to pursue their passions without being exploited in any way shape or form. General unions, for general hobbies and industries together. Not per company. Not localities. General. Unions. NOW. Soldarity across the board.

[@djangotrane]

Yeah, we largely have enterprise-level unions, and we need industry-wide unions, for sure.

[@crptnite]

Agreed.

[@crptnite]

​@@djangotraneyeah it's crazy how we seem to find a way to discriminate even within the unionization of workers...

[@djangotrane]

@@crptnite Agreed! Before the AFL and CIO merged in 55, a few key leaders in the AFL felt that industrial workers weren’t even worth organizing! And both were way behind the communists, who were organizing service workers, workers of color, and women from the get go.

[@JamesTDG]

​@@djangotraneagreed.

[@LmfaoBanana]

This is disturbing beyond imagination. This cannot be allowed. It must not be allowed.

[@WelfareChrist]

How is Roblox getting around COPPA laws? It sounds like they are almost definitely harvesting data and their user base is mostly kids.

[@Xada35]

They claim that they don't harvest data from accounts below the age of 13. They are also supposedly compliant with COPPA laws. Though i doupt it.

[@normanclatcher]

Selling data to advertisers, it is not. Making money through microtransactions, it is.

[@WelfareChrist]

@@normanclatcher no like harvesting data to optimize their own systems. The CEO was kinda talking about it in one of the clips.

[@Glacialgaming]

@@WelfareChristchatgpt says this, also fyi roblox became coppa complient in 2008 i think As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, Roblox takes steps to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by implementing various measures to protect the privacy of users under the age of 13. Keep in mind that their compliance measures might have evolved since then, so it's essential to check their latest policies and practices. Here's how Roblox was working towards COPPA compliance: 1. **Age Verification**: During the account creation process, Roblox asks users to provide their birthdate. If a user indicates that they are under 13 years old, they are subject to stricter privacy controls. 2. **Limited Chat**: For users under 13, Roblox employs a more restricted chat system to prevent the sharing of personal information and inappropriate content. 3. **Moderation**: Roblox has a team of moderators who monitor the platform for inappropriate content and behavior. This is to ensure a safer environment for young users. 4. **Parental Controls**: Roblox offers parental controls that allow parents to set restrictions on their child's account, including who can communicate with them and who can join their games. 5. **Education and Outreach**: Roblox provides educational resources to help parents and guardians understand how the platform works and how to set up and manage their children's accounts safely. 6. **Data Privacy**: Roblox takes privacy seriously and has measures in place to protect user data, especially for users under 13. Please note that COPPA compliance is an ongoing process, and platforms like Roblox may update their practices and policies to ensure compliance with evolving regulations. It's essential to review Roblox's current policies and practices related to COPPA to stay informed about their latest efforts in this regard.

[@wxllmadeit]

Roblox is a great platform for kids as long as they are smart with it just like any other platform. There are predators on every social media platform and it’s like most games for kids. You can put parental controls too

[@Iquey]

I'm glad the kid on the couch understands how dangerous sometimes the gaming public can be. Reminds me of being 9-12 on neopets and 13-21 on gaiaonline. Ppl will definitely try to hack you and steal all ur monies and outfits.

[@NA_49erFan]

Evil people. Don't let your kids anywhere close to these platforms

[@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehr]

will that really help? they want to play the games all their friends are playing. how about you just teach them not to work for free, and don't give them robux

[@redmed10]

​@@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehrI bet that ceo would not allow his kids anywhere near roblox and other similar platforms.

[@Ivan.Wright]

​@@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehrI think because people default to blanket control rather than exploring options like education.

[@linusmlgtips2123]

Oh no kids are doing something voluntarily

[@ramadjones]

Easier said than done. EVERY parent that I know that has a child between the ages of 8 and 14 are on Roblox. My child would lose his mind if I took that away from him. For him, there is no cable television and videogames. It's KZbin and Roblox. Both are very unregulated. So I have to watch everything he does, because he can end up going down dark rabbit holes because he doesn't know any better.

[@lovemusicbandchorus]

I dont think using AI is improvement. Thyeyd still be using these kid's code to feed the AI information, and im 100% sure that they would still not be fairly compensated for it

[@MyGameMaster]

Its opt-in, and I doubt little 9-year-old billy is gonna have good code anyway

[@youaresociety4035]

​@@MyGameMasterbut the 9 year old has a true idea on what children want

[@kel-A-3414]

They asked bro if pornography would be allowed on a children's platform and bro basically said "Probably." 💀💀💀💀💀💀 Dawwwggg, your answer should be no. Even if you're going to do it , say no. The fact that he has the audacity to basically say yes on live TV is wilddd

[@stringercorrales6627]

I’ve thought of going to public school libraries to check out dirty books because that’s where the good smut is now.

[@peterbillings3276]

@@stringercorrales6627wtf r u going on about?

[@smileyeagle1021]

Seriously, if you are ever asked about changing your policy on porn, the answer is always no. If you currently offer porn, you will continue to offer porn. If you don't currently offer porn, you will never offer porn. It really is that simple. More websites have been done in by that one mistake than I care to count.

[@carnanya]

​@@stringercorrales6627 you probably shouldnt be anywhere near any schools

[@OneAdam12Adam]

It shows the arrogant narcissistic mindset of the corporate leaders. The Trump fascists have been the best teachers.

[@BsktImp]

Man's capacity to devalue the very existence of others never fails to shock me.

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane.. if we continue to allow this, it will only get worse

[@leighfoulkes7297]

Training our kids to be mindless, abused, addicted and slave like robots. What you missed is the fact that they are using psychologist to make their games insanely addictive towards young kids on top of all this.

[@System_AHHHH]

Are you a conspiracy theorist? Roblox is no where near addicting and its the kids choice to make the game.

[@Tona_Studios1219]

Your out of touch old man

[@ImAPersonHehehehaw]

Yo listen up, hear me out… you don’t gotta be a developer to play ROBLOX! I know, it’s frickin insane, I know!

[@Kreshura-tm5rb]

hey, so, sorry to ruin your theory but.. 99% of the games on Roblox aren't owned by roblox, yeah I know, such a mind-blowing fact

[@lcbyri]

it used to be so different on the games page. i played roblox from ages 9 to about 18 (2009 to 2018) and the games page used to show all the different categories, small creators, etc. it was so much better.

[@gingeralice3858]

As someone who was 11 in 2009, I didn't even know Roblox existed back then, I had no idea it had been around that long... I swear I never heard of Roblox until just about 5 years ago..

[@quiropracticoecuador1]

@@gingeralice3858 I found out 20 mins ago........2009????

[@elokin300]

@@gingeralice3858 Roblox officially released in 2006

[@batsukamuro]

Excellent content. I love how you connected the exploitation of passionate creators in Roblox to to that of professional devs.

[@rebeccahenderson7761]

Sounds like it needs a Class Action Lawsuit to pay ALL of the child labour producers back.

[@giri.goyo_yt]

Great idea.

[@Necroskull388]

That would be both entirely ethically justified, and extremely hilarious, but there’s no way it will actually succeed. Labor and consumer protections are just too weak in this country.

[@giri.goyo_yt]

@@Necroskull388 Alas, you speaketh the truth.

[@rebeccahenderson7761]

@@Necroskull388 Yes, the US is completely controlled by US and Foreign Corporate Oligarchs. Far too, too many of you scream about freedom while giving all of your power to the Corporate Oligarchs.

[@JamesTDG]

​@@Necroskull388it honestly sucks that we live in a world where doing what would be the morally correct thing to do (via a utilitarian perspective) is what would get you arrested, because there's just no way a poor man can get his voice heard without violence being an element.

[@arontotheleft]

This video upset me so much. The fact our politicians are so cowardly in the face of capital and corporations is infuriating.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

Most of them are probably ignorant of this platform. It will not go on if we present evidence and push them.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

Worse is that they're creating fake cultural wars instead of fighting the REAL CULTURE WARS like this. We should boycott any media outlet that keeps talking about any thing on the Trump Insurgency agenda. Shut it down! We're sick of the bullshit and FSB interference. Fahk Putin! Fahk Xiping!

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane.. if we continue to allow this, it will only get worse

[@Endgame_01]

My son loves Roblox. I don't let him talk to anyone he doesn't know personally IRL and I don't let him purchase the currency. I will have to watch him a little more closely after hearing this though, just in case

[@Ailun__]

Great video, it’s insane how unethical roblox is

[@DaughterofDiogenes]

So I’ve been studying the internet for over a decade. I was writing a graduate paper on the dangers of internet culture a decade ago. It was so traumatic I had an actual breakdown and dropped out of graduate school. I felt like chicken little. I kept telling everyone how dangerous this place can be for kids, especially girls. I had to walk away completely. My kids are not allowed on the internet alone. We talk often about tricksy people and how they pretend to be kids and how almost everything you see in the media is designed to get you to spend your money. The internet can be such an amazing tool. Unfortunately millions of disgusting men and women have found a quiet place to do their dirtiest and no one anywhere will or can do anything to stop it. It’s really up-to the parents to stand up and refuse to fall to the pressure.

[@cappie2000]

if we continue to allow this, it will only get worse

[@zmazn]

I swear Im struggling with the same thing, Im 18 and I've seen things that I can never let anyone close to me even know about.. And this was all a few years ago, before the internet got THIS degenerated. If the internet back then was still dangerous, today is a nightmare.. Wherever I go, I see how many poor kids and even older people are manipulated and influenced by the degeneracy of the internet, and they dont even think about it for a second its all normalized.. I dont even know how to explain it.. Im trying as much as I can to protect my family..

[@rg4490]

This video reminds me so much of my childhood experience playing Runescape. I would voluntarily slave away hundreds of hours online for gold pieces. People use these gold pieces to pay each other for services within the game, gamble, and scam each other for virtual gold. I was scammed for virtual gold as a kid and it was a valuable learning experience that helped me identify and protect myself from scammers in real life. These experiences are common in most if not all online gaming communities. I guess the big difference is Roblox advertising their game as a chance to get paid, but even if they said "we own all the robux and they cannot be converted back into real currency" there would still be people making content for them for free. Because its fun, it is gameplay, and many of the current content creators are fully aware they'll never see a dollar from it.

[@mystiqblackcat]

My son played Roblox a bit some years ago. At first I wasn't worried about it and then he came asking for money, so I looked into it and very quickly found articles about scammers and predators so I shut it down. He wasn't(still isn't) happy about it, but I saw enough creepy stuff in the 20-30 minutes or research I did to make it an easy decision. It's crazy to me that it's so popular yet lawmakers are completely ignoring it.

[@ptralx3122]

W father

[@System_AHHHH]

I play roblox, I havent seen any pedos. Nor have I gotten scammed.

[@Boodram12]

it best to let him get back to playing but with supervision or with the inbuilt Parental controls

[@Boodram12]

also your child is not dumb as he can be smart to avoid them

[@mystiqblackcat]

@@Boodram12 I wasn't aware that you knew my kid. Do yall go to school together or something? /s Look buddy, I don't know how old you are or if you have kids of your own, but as his father it's my responsibility to keep him safe, and raise him to be, at bare minimum, a functioning adult who contributes to society. I sit him down and talk with him about this sort of stuff and he doesn't quite get it yet. He's young and naive and that's ok; he's just a kid and shouldn't be expected to grow up too fast. Roblox isn't just a game that has a chance for people to scam him; it's also a fucked up business model(did you watch the video?) and I'm not going to support it. There are thousands of other games he can play online with his friends. He isn't missing out on life because he isn't playing Roblox.

[@jfye10]

Its disgusting. How can we allow companies like this to exploit children. Those people have no souls

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane.. if we continue to allow this, it will only get worse

[@Tona_Studios1219]

Roblox ain't forcing little Timmy to make games Allright

[@Somtejesstudios]

​@@Tona_Studios1219 finally a smart man

[@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehr]

it's pretty crazy, a business model where the customers do all the work for free, and you keep all the money they generate! oh wait, that's every single social media website... we seriously need to rethink the internet so people get to keep the money they earn and it doesn't all just go to a megacorporation who uses it to pay shareholders instead of improving the platform.

[@Caterfree10]

I struggled to understand how this was exploitation until we got to the whole economic system of how robux are used for payment and payouts. Like, games where you make other games aren’t new. Mario even has a level maker game. But this is different and significantly worse on so many levels like wtf.

[@Scootfairy]

love how the ceo of roblox compared the future of his company to westworld. just a reminder, westworld is a dystopia

[@cappie2000]

Another CEO of a successful business that deserves to disappear... I'm getting such pedo vibes from that fucker, it's insane.. if we continue to allow this, it will only get worse

[@lewa3910]

Definitely need more 'People Makes Games' collabs with 'More Perfect Union'! Need to get more videogames unionising!

[@tonyagraham7365]

As a kid that plays Roblox, I don’t actually create. But yeah this is crazy. I’m way more aware now

[@meander112]

I highly recommend the People Make Games story on this, here on YT.

[@PeterFnPorker]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS Im a Game Developer and when I started my career I quickly realised it's more exploited than any other Tech Industry.... period... UNIONIZE GAME DEVELOPMENT!!! Billionaires don''t care about games or people..... they care about money

[@logans3365]

Anything regarding coding is heavily exploited, even the programmers with good salaries are still exploited compared to the profits they generate. Programmers have all the power, start coding for the people instead of for companies.

[@Willow-Eversong]

there is a line. making games for roblox as a kid independently is not a job and should only be seen as a personal project. But once that game earns revenue, the split should be 70/30, not the other way around. The 70 cut roblox gests is criminal. yes I get it, hosting instances of games is not free, and 99% of those games are a "waste of space", but roblox is obviously very VERY profitable.

[@Veltrosstho]

Bruh, do you realize how much money some of these developers make? It's a real job that children are doing because they find it FUN.

[@AnonymousAnarchist2]

​@@Veltrossthodo you realize how easy it is to run a server with client side processing? How cheap it is? How utterly inexepensive it is? Sure, for Roblox the bill will be large, but thier audience is large. The bill vs the income for thier service is absymal. The kids are being exploited, and that is absolutly disgusting. Who cares if some are doing it for fun, do you know what else was done for fun? Inventing the modern computer. It was ALL hobbies at first. Inventing all of the modern manufacturing equipment. ALL of it came from hobbies. Discovering Electricity and its governing priciples. All the art. Just all of it. Should Alexander Gram Bell have not been compensated? Are you inplying that these things have no value just because people enjoy the work they do? Bruh. You have a seriously messed up view of work.

[@prooheckcp]

@@AnonymousAnarchist2 And you clearly have no clue about how complicated roblox servers are. Roblox isn't just hosting a server, it's replicating BILLIONS of assets via Cloud at real-time. They are also incredibly transparent about their costs which believe it or not are abissal. Roblox is quite literally losing money and making no profit right now

[@AnonymousAnarchist2]

@@prooheckcp actually... well you really really picked the wrong person to make that argument to. First of all. Roblox is making RECORD BREAKING profits. not just profits but record breaking profits this is why attention is on them. The assests at roblox are managed by your PC. The logic is handled by your pc. the file sizes are miniscule each game, as 3D art files are fractions of the size of any full 4k picture. the rendering is done on your pc. Do you know what roblox handles? a constant stream of a single 64 bit number at 60 hertz, all the way up to two, at 30 hertz. your chat, a techonology we perfected to profit capable about 30 years ago. downloads for the games, I.E. game storage. The little storefront. thats simpler than fricken old school classifieds. And a user database extensive and designed to be ripe for explotation of the userbase. Ive had servers capable of running modern roblox functions sittng in my closet since 2003. A bit smaller than whats required for traffic. And wired into a 56k modems. -_- No. Roblox is not losing money. they are not cutting edge. they are litterally going the safest, easiest route for making money online

[@MandoMadness]

@@prooheckcp you got absolutely destroyed in these comments bro

[@pixelflopped]

As a roblox KZbinr, this is not the case. Every kid has the choice to do it or not. It's not child labor. Also, roblox takes 30% of the owners earnings.

[@pixelander]

Yeah they’re acting like they’re being forced to create games

[@JoooojooOOOOooOoooo]

Lmao, and they not using his time to play DEEPWOKEN 🤓🤓👆👆👆👆

[@JoooojooOOOOooOoooo]

Or Guts and Blackpowder, Centaura

[@aworldincolor1331]

I wouldn't be surprised if this was long game to get developers to be paid less in a couple years. This is very disturbing that children are being exposed to the labor market at all, but especially in conditions that even adults wouldn't accept.

[@Iquey]

They usually push the boundaries with kids because teens and kids don't know any better when it comes to labor rights.

[@ptralx3122]

Makes me pissed because if there was a labor union, they would 100 percent get paid more fairly. I say this because the devs make roblox literally 100 percent of their revenue

[@JavierBonnemaison]

That 8 yo is super smart. He should be spending his time elsewhere.

[@tcbobb1613]

He got all that smarts by playing roblox and dealing with all of this things.

[@JoooojooOOOOooOoooo]

He should be playing the peak game deepwoken lmao

[@redmed10]

Ive always been worried about roblox. Mainly with kids getting involved in adult themes at far too young of an age. Not being a gamer myself I've not been able to investigate it thoroughly but I've seen the effects it has on my nephews and nieces. Sadly there's not much critical investigation of this company and all the other companies like it. This video only has 2k views at time of writing which is sad to see when it imparts such good information and is so well made.

[@ricenoodles632]

"Over 25"? Roblox was already quite popular by 2008. Not nearly to the scale as now, obviously, but here we're talking about an era before smartphones.

[@timbses]

When we need to talk about children’s labour rights you know something’s wrong

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

Idk about y'all, but I'm *DONE* with this capitalism thing. 300 years is enough. Time for something better.

[@AnonymousThrowaway2]

The problem is, nothing else is really as good in the long term. Plus, it would take a LOOOONG time to get used to it.

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

the irony is that most content creation platforms are 50/50 and users are complaining it's too high. most people want 70/30 splits in favor of the creator NOT the company. roblox not only does the opposite but like people are complaining about apple/google's stores for being 70/30 splits because it's too much. what i want to see is a scalable %. like how our tax system works. though capping at a certain rate, maybe 50/50 or something. 70/30 split in favor of the company is just criminal!

[@untermino]

This video really scared me. We gotta keep fighting for our kids

[@TheRealNickG]

I don't understand how this is any different than KZbin. Nobody is making you go there and essentially it is a community of people entertaining each other....... If there were a KZbin content creators strike or lawsuit based on the exploitation of of content creators, most people would say that nobody owes anyone else the privilege of a standing among KZbin royalty to not have to grind away at doing anything else for money if you don't want to. ALL of us are KZbin creators and Roblox programmers, whether we've decided to pick up the task or not, almost all of us are almost always invited to the party. I prefer to not spend all of this energy for people not smart enough to not accept the invitation when it is the invitation that might be the problem in the first place, when it comes to kids. IF these kids are being "exploited" it is because they are being allowed to and encouraged to work hard for little in return, WITHOUT permission from their parents. I couldn't help but thinking the whole time when dad was talking with the kid about his "career" that he was the one that already should have had the answers and put a stop to it a long time ago if it was consuming too much of his kid's time. Roblox should be getting angry emails saying his child doesn't have his permission to be on their platform and then block Roblox from the home network, if everything you are saying is true, accurate, and timely. End of problem. Some parents want to get through all these hard questions without ever offending or having to tell their kid what to do or giving them lessons about how to be and how to act, and they are going to be disappointed when the solutions are worse than the original problem. Don't believe me? Just ask the Chinese who are only "allowed" an hour of gaming a day. We can either do that, or get with the program and start telling our kids what and who they are instead of lazily telling them to "discover" themselves by staring at stupid screens for their entire waking lives and then demand that they answer questions about what's wrong with them when the the obvious and inevitable problems with that way of being raised come up. All this to say that there is no "fair wage" for these children, as they shouldn't be asked to do any labor in the first place and the consequences of their decisions have nothing to do with their subsistence so I'm not really worried about it (if the parents are actually not LETTING the kids stop programming because they need them to pay the bills, we got a whole other set of problems to deal with). They were enticed by the the possibility of making money and having the admiration of their online community and then fell for the kiddy casino economy. IF it is labor, it needs to be put to a complete stop, full stop, and IF it is just a game, then shut up and let them play it, whatever that means, with proper parental monitoring. We just need to decide how much child gambling we are comfortable with and be very clear about the consequences of those decisions and speak honestly about the tradeoffs. Just please stop telling me that it is a labor dispute that it isn't and not the children gambling that it is.

[@Tona_Studios1219]

Yeah, Most of the comments are people which are probably out of touch with videogames making roblox be some sort of slave sweatshop platform.

[@MisterBrickalew]

This is what every company dreams of. No need to pay the workers and benefiting immensely off them.

[@Apheleion]

hey glad to see the PMG peeps here sorry its on such a dark topic though. I'm so sad to see a genre and form of entertainment become soo greedy, corrupt, and perverse.

[@step-hen-ie]

I came here for Emma's work and was not disappointed. More from them please.

[@redmed10]

That ceo of roblox is a frightening figure. His lust for money is blinding him to ever thing else. 11:00

[@lboston4660]

This is ridiculous. You can't compare a kid in the third world who literally has to help out or watch his family starve to a kid in the first world working a job inside a video game because he's just that bored. Come on people. The internet needs LESS regulation, not more.

[@Toribell1928]

The way the ceo talks is so gross. No one is a person to him. Literally he didn’t talk about a single worker or customer like a human being. Just disgusting.

[@chaosSpectre370]

This is one of the best reporting from you guys ive seen yet. Please do more on the game industry, they desperately need labor help and are heavily abused for their work

[@DavidRichardson153]

I started gets ads for brands, to quote the ads, "now being a part of Roblox." By the third ad, which also happened to be the third Roblox ad in a row, I just instinctively knew that however bad I could imagine Roblox is behind the UI, it is undoubtedly much worse than that. This video proved me right.

[@Vode1234]

This makes me really sad because I would have loved this game as a kid. Used to make so many maps in wc3 back in the day and loved every minute of it, but there was no money changing hands or way to contact the map maker.

[@itsmejustin3265]

Because of Roblox’s obsession with money, it losts its potential of becoming a much more beautiful, safer, and better game of what I could’ve imagined it to be in seconds.

[@wyvern723]

When my son asked us to get Roblox, I looked it up, and saw that it sounded exploitative. I told him no. I had no idea just how bad it was. My god, this is horrifying.

[@jellyfishmoment]

if its on phone, tablet, xbox, etc. you cant even make games

[@ask343]

Your kid probably just wants to go on there to play games, not make them you can only get exploited if you choose to make games for other people

[@Amberglazed]

Istg, you people will find something that gives of “bad vibes” and then you’ll see something like this video and then it’ll magically give you a reason to to feel that way. This has so much misinformation and just generally inaccurate information, and this is coming from a roblox player. Yes, I get it, roblox takes a cut from you when you cash out, and the roblox community HAS complained about it ourselves, but roblox devs, especially young ones, aren’t being forced or exploited into doing it. They do it voluntarily, for fun. BUT, as the other person above me said, they only get exploited if they choose to make game for others.

[@Boodram12]

that every online games ever

[@Tona_Studios1219]

​@@AmberglazedAnd it's mostly these high quality videos by organizations being the most lackluster in info because it's just people out of touch

[@cixzejy]

I think the worst effect of this is actually the normalization of these practices on children slaving away on the roblox games staring at age 6 has to be damaging to the psyche.

[@steeltoeboots9591]

Sounds to me like the parents need to step in and remove their kids from that environment. Control what you can yourself.

[@byron_00]

I had to scroll far into the comments to find a comment like this. Parents need to be more aware of their children's online activities and get involved when necessary. If my kids wanted to write games for Roblox, I'd steer them towards better platforms or use no platform at all to hone their skills.

[@steeltoeboots9591]

@@byron_00 exactly they are children shouldn't be working in the first place. Let them be kids. All the software and app dev you can get free for the most part.

[@orenrob1914]

Same thing with youtubers and tiktokers posting videos, right? That same "child exploitation'? Kids want their stuff to be seen, that is why value is created. A web3 Roblox would be better, where the developers and users own the platform and so the value created can't be syphoned off in an exploitative manner, but there is still the problem that the desire for views will always exceed the supply of views. You may oppose a meritocracy and so you feel its unfair that only the good games get views/plays, but making recommendations "fairer" will reduce the value delivered by the platform as people can't find enjoyable gaming experiences. The existing auction system seems pretty bad from my position too, but it is at least a way to promote only those games that are expected to provide enough value to cover the cost of the auction. Can anyone suggest a better way to order the recommendations? Which is better- centralized methods (youtube) or quasi- decentralized (roblox)?

[@scrapgamingx1942]

I AM HERE FOR THE WISE OLD AND YOUNG ROBLOX is not a bad platform there is no negative intent and child predators are only to be ran into basically never as long as your age group is playing age appropiate games and if your so worried turn off chats roblox is voluntary they chose to work on their stuff it isnt forced and roblox allows developers to stop at any time there is no contracts this isnt a labor company

[@nclose450]

Be aware parents. Know what your children are doing. Know what these companies are doing or what they are not doing to protect our kids.

[@DragoonSlime]

Played regularly back in the earliest days of the platform, and feel really sad that the current issues with Roblox have always been there, but have just become more complex and prominent with the platform’s growth. Like the young players interviewed, I remember having my antennae up for unsafe behavior by predatory users, but it seems a lot more widespread now, and I never once thought that Roblox itself was one of the entities I should have been wary of. The CEO’s opinion on mature themes and aging up the user base are diabolical and shocking to me. As long as the platform maintains its appeal to younger users, they will continue to use it. Minimizing player risk should be top priority, it’s saddening to see that this is not the case. Great video, thanks for the information, I wonder what other former users think about the modernization of the platform.

[@fairguinevere666]

I used to play roblox back in about 2011/2012 - just before the whole creator payout shift in 2013 and the later smooth terrain updates. It was a very different time and definitely was made by people doing it for fun. Games like "Base wars: the land" featured blocky models and decent enough gun handling, some folks were really starting to push the limits but largely for fun. I can't remember the exact name but there was a dude that made vehicles with realistic suspension models, but I feel like a lot of that was to see if you could almost? Without profit motive in the same way. Since then roblox seems to have shifted to a much more comprehensive game engine, which when combined with the profit motive doesn't seem to have actually made the games better. Just its own microcosm of AAA's predatory financial systems that it used to be largely free of. Also apparently they removed "tix" which was the free currency so now it's just their premium scrip, where everything ties back to the dollar in one way or another which just doesn't sit right too.

[@johnnyandtheinsatiablevoid]

I'm 37 now and I've been a lifelong gamer; and as much as I love the hobby, I have to admit that it was a major parental misstep for my mother to allow it with free rein. I've squandered opportunities ranging from social to educational to professional my entire life in favor of gooning off and gaming. The thing is; my mom didn't have data to base her decision on; but we do now, and I'm sorry to have to say it; but allowing your kid to spend the lion's share of their childhood in front of a screen is abuse. It fosters an addiction; and it puts them directly in the crosshairs of corporate exploitation along with a score of other potential threats. That all being said, exploitation of this nature is insidious beyond belief and neither Roblox nor any similar company should be allowed to engage in it; even if they _do_ pay out in good faith. At the end of the day; you _should_ be able to trust that the media directed at your child is not demonstrably and intentionally harmful for them; and we can't. Which, like most things, comes back around to the malevolence of late-stage capitalism.

[@armorclasshero2103]

Im sorry that happened to you, but every single study since the 70s proves you're wrong. Games are only addictive to people predisposed to addictive behavior. This has been proven hundreds of times.

[@johnnyandtheinsatiablevoid]

@@armorclasshero2103 I never said that _everyone_ is susceptible to the addiction, but people with such predispositions represent a sizeable portion of the populace (varies by substance/activity, but the lower end of likelihood is still around 30%;) and to simply roll the dice on the matter is not really a good way of finding out; especially when the subjects in question are not even aged to double-digits yet.

[@armorclasshero2103]

@@johnnyandtheinsatiablevoid so we should punish the whole class for the actions of the few?

[@johnnyandtheinsatiablevoid]

@@armorclasshero2103 And believe me, I DO understand the impulse to be defensive of gaming. It's a wonderfully fun activity and can come with a number of benefits ranging from increased hand-eye coordination to tactical and logical reasoning; but like most things, is best taken in moderation. Problem is, if you just take an "F around and find out" approach; those who ARE predisposed still end up caught in the web

[@johnnyandtheinsatiablevoid]

@@armorclasshero2103 It would hardly be punishment to be limited to X hours of play in a given amount of time. A kid might not _like_ being sent outside to play or whatever replacement activity the parent insists upon; but that does not make it punitive.

[@Godofpastal]

I’m almost in my 40s I’ve never expected a game from my teen days To go from a Community caring to a hunger money not caring people. I pray to you teens.

[@uniworkhorse]

The conclusion was chilling, that this is essentially a beta test on future digital labor rights...

[@TheAwsomeSawse]

Kinda hard to process how dystopian our real world really is. This is beyond corrupt.

[@dukeofrodtown1705]

Yep. I'm definitely staying away from this site - I'm an adult now, but I never knew enough about any of this for years. Absolutely insane.

[@squeaknsqurriel7060]

Wait did a CEO of a tech company litterally just reference Westworld when talking about adding AI and their future plans? Is he that oblivious?

[@ptralx3122]

He is literally explaining his ideal future for the company and NO one picked up on it. Don’t be surprised when roblox becomes EVEN worse in a few years…

[@diduoa]

As a young roblox player, i can confirn that i'm forced into child labor and they will kill my family if i stop buying robux.

[@JackFoxtrotEDM]

People Make Games made a video on this, Roblox threatened them to take it down, so they investigated further lmao

[@csours]

Ha! I saw the title and was going to recommend the People Make Games video, but here you are!

[@kingmarx810]

Eye opening report. I knew of Roblox through the media and from parent friends that have children that played it but, I just assumed it was just another video game fad like Minecraft or Pokemon. The creators of Roblox are evil geniuses. The perfect capitalists. Exploit labor with almost no fair compensation. But, their labor pool are children. If this were a mine we'd be throwing a fit but, since it's a game no-one pays attention.

[@MyGameMaster]

"But, their labor pool are children". No, its not. Do you have any examples of someone under 16 making a game that Roblox made money from, or do you just think that because its a "kids game" all of the developers are kids.

[@ImAPersonHehehehaw]

Let me explain something, kids aren’t *forced* to make games, they make games if they want to make games, it’s not like once you join ROBLOX it’s like “Oh dang I gotta make a game or I’ll be publicly executed!” It’s only if you want to make a game. Really if you want you don’t even have to spend a buck on the game, you don’t even have to touch ROBLOX STUDIO, if you want you can just walk around with the default characters. Even better, there are donation games on the platform where all you gotta do is make game-passes, join the game, get a stand, and just sit there and wait for someone to donate. It’s not that deep. PLUS THERE’S LITERALLY SETTINGS WHERE IF YOU’RE UNDERAGE YOU CAN GO TO PRIVACY AND TURN OFF CHAT! Plus you know what’s pretty similar? The platform this video is on.

[@natas74d7]

omg thank you dude 😂🙏

[@Zoranurai13]

Genius, children do the work, pay for their own work, and get so addicted they ask for more money to give to their work. And you as a company profit. Yeah i’m gonna try to keep my future kid away from roblox as much as i can

[@madxsboil]

But technically its not child “labor“ because there choosing to spend LOADS of money on a game essentialy they arent being forced to do anything

[@prooheckcp]

This video is straight up missinformation and it's quite embarrassing to attack a platform without making any research into it. Roblox is a game store just like Steam that also comes with a game engine along with it for people to develop games for the platform on it. Roblox doesn't incentivate people to use the engine but do provide a big array of tutorials and resources to properly learn it. The vast majority of people who design games ARE NOT KIDS, the vast majority of them are 18+ developers, many of them with degrees in things such as computer science (myself included). In order to call roblox exploitive just because it allows people to make games then you'd need to call every single major engine such as Unity and Unreal engine exploitive since well, no one is stopping kids from using them and attempting to make money out of it anyway? The percentages are also completely wrong which once again shows that you didn't do any proper research or even consult any actual Roblox Developers (kids who spend a few hours in an engine aren't professionals). Roblox actually takes 23.8% and is operating at a negative net for the past 4-5 years. Also Roblox literally teaches you highly qualified skills that are used in the real world. If anything it's much better to grow learning important stuff (like coding and 3D art) than playing fortnite and learning nothing other than being addicted to playing brainless videogames. Devs on the end only get roughly 30% (it's actually 27.4%) because you're completely ignoring the fact that maintaining a major online architecture, storing every game in a cloud, replicating it to millions of users globally, maintaining and localization to multiple countries costs a LOT of money (hence why roblox is at a negative net). Next time contact actual professional roblox players if you want to get a real insight of the platform instead of attacking our livelihood just for the sake of get attention

[@galaxy1234]

Yes. This video is total bullshit.

[@AnonymousThrowaway2]

Have you not played ROBLOX? Search Ruben Sim, he was sued to HELL for calling out the platform’s decisions. ROBLOX refuses to do anything about pedophiles (eg. MisterObvious, a pedophile wasn’t banned until 3 years after) and is even introducing *virtual dating*. They don’t care anymore, not since 2013.