Children's video game Roblox is apparently having issues with explicit sexual content and racism — major problems for one of the biggest children's video games in existence.
Scantily clad avatars inside the game are giving other users lap dances, the BBC reports, while others are hanging out nude. One avatar was even spotted wearing a Nazi uniform.
According to the shocking report, gamers are meeting in virtual "condos" to talk sex and even have sex, or at least an approximation with their blocky Roblox bodies. And that's a big problem as the majority of the game's users are children, with even kids under the age of 13 technically allowed to play.
These "condo games" only last for less than an hour before they get taken down by both moderators and automated systems, according to the BBC.
"We conduct a safety review of every single image, video, and audio file uploaded to Roblox, using a combination of human and machine detection," the game's developer, also called Roblox, told the broadcaster in a statement.
The company has also developed "Parental Control" tools that will put restrictions in place, limiting what children can access and interact with in the game. Days after the BBC reached out to the company, Roblox published a blog post outlining what it does to support and protect the community.
"As our diverse community has grown, so have the platform functionality and resources we have created to both protect and empower our community," the post reads. "We have built rigorous new systems and improved existing ones. We’ve created a rich suite of free tools for anyone who wants to build on Roblox."
The company also reiterated that it reports "any suspected child exploitation, abuse materials, or online grooming to relevant authorities and organizations such as the National Crime Agency, as well as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States."
And yet many "condo" games fall through the cracks, according to the BBC's report.
Meanwhile, Facebook's parent company Meta has encountered reminiscent problems, with some users reportedly sexually harassing women on the company's Horizon Worlds VR platform.
To experts, none of that is surprising.
"You have the anonymity and you have the disinhibition effect," digital psychologist Liraz Margalit told the BBC. "This platform provides you with the playground to do anything you want."
READ MORE: Roblox: The children's game with a sex problem [BBC]
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