ROBLOX has not officially confirmed plans to shut down on September 1 amid a surge of viral posts.
An apparent hoax on social media fuelled a frenzy of fear among the hugely popular game’s 380million user base last week.
Roblox has faced growing scrutiny over child safety concerns[/caption]
The fact Roblox hasn’t confirmed the posts are true is hugely telling[/caption]
It appears to have started from a parody account on X, spiralling from there onto other apps including TikTok, Instagram and beyond.
An account on X posted a screenshot saying: “It’s Official! Roblox is Shutting Down On September 1st.”
Roblox hasn’t officially denied these latest claims – but nor has the gaming giant officially stated it is closing down either which is the key detail everyone should really be focusing on.
It’s not the first time such rumours have spread online, leading to bosses speaking out.
“The same hoax goes around every year or two,” the firm has previously said.
“Remember not to believe everything you read on the internet.”
As one of the biggest games in the world right now, the chance of Roblox closing anytime soon is extremely unlikely.
So why did these posts come about?
#1 ROBLOX BANS
A lot of it seems to stem from continued concerns around child safety.
Roblox is already banned in a small number of countries, including Turkey, Qatar and Oman.
A Chinese version called Luobu was closed down indefinitely in 2021 too.
#2 NEW UK LAWS
Some posts on social media falsely claim that the UK’s new Online Safety Act rules mean the game closing down.
The Online Safety Act forces tech giants to put strict and proactive measures to protect children from online harm, such as grooming and sexual content.
While this has led to sweeping changes across the internet, Roblox hasn’t announced any withdrawal from the UK and nor is it expected to.
#3 US LEGAL ACTION
Across the Atlantic, the firm faces a lawsuit that claims the platform facilitates “the distribution of child sexual abuse material and the sexual exploitation of Louisiana’s children”.
It comes after harrowing cases of predators fulfilling their sick aims via the platform too.
In response to Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill’s legal action, bosses put out a lengthy post saying they are constantly developing new safeguards to keep children safe.
“Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue,” they said.
“No system is perfect and bad actors adapt to evade detection, including efforts to take users to other platforms, where safety standards and moderation practices may differ.
“We continuously work to block those efforts and to enhance our moderation approaches to promote a safe and enjoyable environment for all users.”
Age checks were introduced recently to limit access to features like Party Voice and chat without filters, that require a selfie to work out the user’s age.
Further safety enhancements were announced on August 15 by founder and CEO David Baszucki.
Given the unofficial origin of claims Roblox is closing, versus the game’s huge popularity and continued efforts to stamp out predators it’s highly improbable that Roblox is going anywhere soon.
CHECK IT’S TRUE
By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
When seeing these sorts of posts it’s important to check a number of things:
- Is the source official? A blue tick on X / Twitter doesn’t mean it’s official. Check that it’s the page a company actually uses to post about updates (big announcements for Roblox would come from @Roblox).
- Check what you see on TikTok and other social media apps – just because a video has thousands of likes and reshares it doesn’t mean it’s true. Always go to the official website of the service in question, in this case Roblox.com.
- Think before re-sharing – again, check the claims are true before re-sharing anything you see online as you could be fuelling a false rumour.
Image credit: Getty
