rss-bridge 2026-02-24T11:38:27+00:00

"It's a challenge" - Roblox head of parental advocacy speaks on protecting children amidst increasing safety concerns

A new interview with Roblox's head of parental advocacy Dr. Elizabeth Milovidov has touched on the subject of children's safety on the platform, as well how easy it is for children to be exposed to unregulated content. This, according to Milovidov, is a "challenge".

"It's a challenge" - Roblox head of parental advocacy speaks on protecting children amidst increasing safety concerns

Childcare.

[Line up of Roblox characters in multiple outfits, including a robot and a pirate]

Image credit: Roblox

News

by Connor Makar
Staff Writer

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

10 comments

Speaking to Vulture, Milovidov addressed previous reports of children being exposed to content or people that they shouldn't have access to, and stated that they've heard mixed reports from parents on the dangers of Roblox.

"That's kind of the interesting spot right now is that no matter how good my intentions are, sometimes it's hard to beat back against something negative that goes viral," Milovidov said. "A lot of the reports that have come out have been based on things that happened a few years ago, or where moderation teams caught it but, unfortunately, someone took a screenshot; it went out on Instagram and it's game over for us."

When Vulture asked if Milovidov was saying the problem wasn't real, she responded: "I would say that, in general, Roblox is a platform online. The internet is the internet, right? We have to realize that once we give a child any sort of Wi-Fi access, the world is an open place, right? I remember doing digital parenting sessions and telling parents, 'Look, I'm wearing my Apple Watch. Can you believe I can be bullied on my Apple Watch?' You can be bullied in Google Documents. It's not about banning these things. It's about balance and boundaries. Now that we've introduced them, they've seen the water; we can't just say, 'You're never going to go there.'

When asked if parents and Roblox and the parents of Roblox players had equal responsibility in protecting these children, Milovidov responded with: "Oh, 1,000 percent. Would I say equal? Oh, Nicole, I think you're going to get me in trouble. I would say the company has even more responsibility. But yes, parents are right in there. I think all the tech companies have a responsibility to ensure that they are doing their utmost to make sure the platform is safe. Do I think Roblox is doing that? Yes, I do. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. Do I think there's more to be done? Yes, I do."

Vulture also raised the issue of ease of access, specifically with how easy it was for children to make new accounts and access unregulated, potentially problematic content. To this, Milovidov said: "We're trying to balance the privacy concerns of users and families with trying to wall things down a little bit more. It's a challenge. When I was writing the parent's guide for Instagram, I was also telling parents about finsta -- fake Instagram accounts. I mean, these things exist in almost every setting. The idea, again, is to talk with your children and say, 'Listen, this is our family. These are our expectations on this. This is why I don't want you to do this.'

"I know parents are busy, and I don't want to put the onus on them, which is why I'm trying to make it as simple as possible. Let your child guide you. Ask them what they're doing on Roblox. Ask them, 'Has anything ever happened that made them feel a little icky?'"

In a 2022 UK report - the UK's Digital childhoods: a survey of children and parents report - the Children's commissioner for England found among other things that "50 percent of children who saw harmful content reported it, older children and girls are less likely to report harmful content. 40 percent of children who didn't report harmful content told us they didn't report because they felt there was no point in doing so, while only 15 percent felt that the content didn't need to be reported."

Roblox is currently being sued by a variety of entities on the grounds of children's safety. Only last week, Los Angeles county sued Roblox, alleging it made it easy for adults to target children. Many families are also suing Roblox over similar grounds, these include class action lawsuits, a grooming lawsuit in Georgia, and one from Dickinson Country, Michigan in which its alleged that an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on the platform.

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Original source

📄 cc-digital-childhoods-a-survey-of-children-and-parents.pdf