ROBLOX'S PREDATOR PLAYGROUND: New Safety Rules Come Too Late as '764 Gang' Drives 13-Year-Old to Livestream Suicide
Roblox, the popular online gaming platform with 151 million users, is adding new safety rules to protect children after dozens of lawsuits were brought against the company, but critics say the announcement comes years too late as reports grow of the violent extremist network "764" terrorizing kids online.
Roblox will soon require players to verify their age using an AI powered face scan or ID. Kids will only be able to chat with others around their age, not adults. The platform will also give parents more control over who their kids can talk to. "By requiring facial age checks to access chat features, we're helping create an age appropriate environment for every user," Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement.
Roblox will divide users into appropriate age groups: children under 9 years old, children between 9 and 12 years old, between 13 and 15, between 16 and 17, between 18 and 20, and adults 21 and over. The changes are expected to first roll out in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands this December and go global in January.
Donna Rice Hughes, President and CEO of "Enough is Enough," told CBN's Faith Nation that online safety advocates say there is still more to be done in the fight to keep kids safe online. She is raising awareness about violent extremist network 764, which is threatening the lives of teens while they are online.
According to ABC News, the sadistic 764 network is preying on vulnerable children, often eliciting private information and intimate sexual images from them and then blackmailing them.
The FBI arrested a 21 year old man in New Jersey last week who blackmailed teenage girls into sending him sexually explicit images of themselves, while also planning to launch ISIS style terrorist attacks inside the US, even allegedly collecting zip ties, body armor, ski masks, and books about bombmaking at his home.
Three weeks ago, Leslie Taylor of Seattle and her husband visited the cemetery that now holds the ashes of their 13 year old son Jay, who livestreamed his suicide after authorities say he was pushed to do it by members of 764.
"I'll call them a child terrorist gang," Hughes explained. "There are over 250 investigations, and they are actually preying on kids, really around the ages of 10 to 17, again, on social media platforms and gaming platforms like Roblox and Discord. Why? Because where kids play, predators prey."
Hughes adds that gaming platforms like Roblox are especially problematic because "kids are online playing, having fun. Their guard is down, and so a predator can easily come in, befriend them, you know, be their gamer buddy, teach them some new tricks of the trade, and then get them into a private area where they can then abuse them."
Hughes told parents they don't have to feel lost when it comes to protecting kids. "Enough is Enough" provides information and resources for online safety under direct supervision.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
A 13 year old boy livestreamed his own suicide because predators on Roblox pushed him to do it.
Let that sink in.
Roblox knew. Parents trusted. Children died.
The platform allowed adults to groom children for years while raking in billions. Virtual strip clubs. "Condo experiences" where kids are led into bedrooms for simulated sex acts. Five year olds chatting with adult strangers.
Now, after lawsuits pile up and bodies pile up, Roblox suddenly discovers age verification exists.
This is corporate evil dressed as entertainment.
Parents, your children are playing in a digital hunting ground where predators befriend them, groom them, blackmail them, and drive them to suicide.
The 764 gang has 250 active investigations. How many more children will die before we admit these platforms are weapons aimed at our kids?
Delete Roblox. Monitor everything. Your child's life depends on your vigilance.
TAKE ACTION
Protect your children immediately: • Enough is Enough resources and tools: https://enough.org | 888.744.0004 • National Center on Sexual Exploitation: https://endsexualexploitation.org/roblox • Report suspicious activity to FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov
Monitor and control access: • Delete Roblox and similar platforms from devices your children use • Install parental control software and monitor all online activity • Never allow children unsupervised access to gaming platforms or social media • Check your children's friend lists and chat histories daily
Take action against platforms: • Contact your congressional representatives demanding stricter regulations on gaming platforms • Support lawsuits against Roblox for enabling child exploitation • Share warnings about 764 gang and online predators with other parents using #Protect OurChildren
