Since August 2025, the ongoing Roblox investigation has damaged the online sandbox MMO’s reputation. YouTuber Michael Schlep exposed numerous child predators’ participation in the game until its management team later released a rule removing any vigilante accounts from their servers. The moderators’ response to Schlep’s courageous act attracted To Catch a Predator’s Chris Hansen and attorneys across the nation.
In recent months, Schlep and Hansen have informed parents and gamers about Roblox’s questionable business practices. Most of their posts are labeled “endangerment for profit.” Now, the platform has been added to Russia’s ban list over concerns about child safety. Here are the key reasons why many players are pulling away for good.
How Schlep and the Vigilantes Got Banned
Schlep’s YouTube career began as a Roblox news reporter in 2023. He quickly became a vigilante, informing the public about developers and adult players manipulating minors. Criminal activities that managed to bypass moderation involving NSFW content and assets, gambling, money scams, and grooming. He joined others, including Ruben Sim (Benjamin Rober Simon) and JiDion (Jidon Armani Adams), to protect children from malicious actions by some developers.
Ruben Sim works as an unofficial Roblox moderator after settling with the developers outside of court for $150,000 in 2022. He used his responsibilities to close player accounts that created a dangerous environment in the sandbox MMO. What shocked the vigilante was how the platform operates without properly analyzing in-game developer content. While he’s currently banned from the platform, he continues to monitor the Roblox condo servers through Discord.
JiDion assisted Schlep and his friend, Omma, in sting operations outside the platform. After the predators communicate with a decoy, they prepare law enforcement encounters for their arrest. JiDion was a prankster until 2023, after which time he dedicated his time to catfishing suspects. JiDion, Schlep, and Omma have captured a total of six Roblox predators.
Due to their actions to challenge moderation, the Texan YouTuber faced banishment from the MMO. Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman published the new rule “Removal of Vigilantes” on Aug. 13th, 2025. Readers were terrified by the official statement: “While seemingly well-intentioned, the vigilantes we’ve banned have taken actions that are both unacceptable and create an unsafe environment for users. […] Due to privacy concerns, we cannot inform users whether their reports have led to consequences.”
Chris Hansen, State Attorneys’ Fight Child Exploitation
As the announcement rapidly made headlines across news outlets, Chris Hansen joined the fight. He did so after Louisiana’s Attorney General Liz Murrill announced she’s suing Roblox for repeated failure to enact child safety protocols. Hansen informed his followers on his socials that the TruBlu network is collaborating with investigators, victims, and Schlep.
Hansen sat down and interviewed the banned vigilante at Crimecon 2025 on Oct. 15th. Schlep explained to Hansen that he did his duty because he was a past victim on the platform. “I met a very popular game developer whom I used to look up to. I thought that this guy was an innocent person. I was a little kid. I didn’t think anything of it. And he created this power dynamic that took advantage of me to a point where I tried to take my life.”
He mentioned his mother reported the incident to Roblox support. Instead of taking the situation seriously, moderators advised them to contact the Suicide Hotline. It took years for the suspected content creator to be removed after one female developer came forward about her experiences. Law firm Anapol Weiss has traced more than 60 lawsuits from the platform and chat server Discord.
The attorneys general fighting alongside Murrill are Russell Coleman (Kentucky), James Uthmeier (Florida), and Ken Paxton (Texas). All of the involved parties agree that Roblox has falsely advertised the MMO as “child-friendly” and has exploited underage users for profit.
Conflicting Comments from Roblox Founder
In recent years, Roblox has shown signs of faltering due to Ruben Sim’s court trial and Schlep’s ban. Both YouTubers continuously collected evidence of the platform’s failing moderation practices to protect their users aged 13 and under. Founder David Baszucki also received harsh criticisms throughout the changes, including the “Trusted Connections” announcement in July.
This beta feature contains questionable guardrails for teens and children. Those ages 13-17 can import phone contacts using the Contact Importer or QR codes to save them to their Roblox profile. However, adults can add them to their Trusted Connections. It also allows two adult users to mingle, as Baszucki sought to make the platform a dating site.
Later, the Hard Fork Nov. 21st podcast further damaged his reputation after he was invited to respond to the predatory allegations. When co-host Casey Newton asked him about the problem on the platform, Baszucki gave a troubling response: “We don’t necessarily see it that way. We see it as an opportunity.”
Then, co-host Kevin Roose asked for clarity on a 2024 Hindenburg Research report. The article says that Baszucki’s company had a 2% decline in trust and safety expenses. His reaction was baffling as he actively tried to avoid answering since the activist short-seller shut down back in January.
He then explained that the moderation team wanted to invest in an AI age estimator and parental facial recognition to limit children from accessing 18+ online features. Newton immediately recognized how easy it would be for a minor to bypass it by using a photo of any real or fictional adult.
The final nail that weakened the Roblox founder’s defense is bringing up the prediction and betting platform, Polymarket. When Roose and Newton jokingly asked about kids gambling, Baszucki responded in a straight tone, “I think we would have to do that. Every single country has different legislation around loot boxes.” Social media users found his Hard Fork interview hard to watch and disgraceful.
Countries Take Action to Ban Online Platform
As Hansen and Schlep continue their investigation, other countries have taken action to restrict access to Roblox. A majority of the platform is banned across the Middle East because the in-game chat is prevented from making predatory advances. Brazil could ban it after President Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva signed on to block online games providing loot boxes in late September.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (MCDA) is reviewing Roblox’s latest safety measures and is considering shutting down the nation’s servers. Not only for concerns about online safety, but also to prevent extremist groups from influencing their mindset. These two reasons are why Russia banned the platform entirely, alongside censoring LGBTQ culture.
And it appears Hard Fork’s Baszucki interview shows that the moderation team is willing to find loopholes. Australia, which recently banned social media for children under 16, is debating whether or not Roblox is a gaming platform or a social interaction website. Independent Senator David Pocock discussed the issue with the eSafety Committee after The Guardian published their November one-week investigation, “My Chilling Week on Roblox.”
Senior correspondent Sarah Martin reported her findings while going undercover. She experienced her young alter ego being cyberbullied, having access to explicit content, and witnessing children spending real money to purchase Robux for highly-priced virtual cosmetics. What’s even frightening is that a minor can check a box to say they have a guardian’s permission to create an account. All accessible content is advertised as kids’ games, even when users are under parental control.
The Australian government’s purpose for the social media ban is to prevent children under 16 from accessing harmful content. An early 2025 study showed that 7 out of 10 children are exposed to grooming behavior, self-harm, and graphic violence. WhatsApp, YouTube Kids, and Google Classroom do not meet the criteria and are spared. Any infringements will be sent to the listed social media companies instead of fining the child and their parents.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant explained to Pocock the difficulties of restricting access to Roblox: “We’ve been concerned about the online game for the longest time. Part of the problem with a co-mingle platform like this is that you can’t identify the ages of everyone, and the parental relationships with the young people on it.” The committee hopes that age verification will be added as a security measure. The Australian ban takes effect on Dec. 10th, and the government will update its limited access list over time.
