Roblox gets banned indefinitely in Turkey over “child exploitation”

Comments

• NOT_RICK@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Broken clock moment for Erdy

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  • Crikeste@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    At least he cares about Palestinians. Unlike Kamala. Mrs. “Shut up, I’m talking”.

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    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      And I could say at least Kamala doesn’t have all her political opponents locked up. I wouldn’t do that though because boiling a politician down to a single issue doesn’t make any sense.

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    • amanda@aggregatet.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      You can do the right thing for the wrong reasons and this is a classic case. He’s an ethno-nationalist. Ask him how he feels about Kurdish minorities or the genocide on Armenians.

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    • TrickDacy@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Tankie bullshit

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    • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      You asked Joe Biden to step down and you got what you wanted. Good job, be happy.

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    • glizzard@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Is this sarcasm? This feels like sarcasm.

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  • charleroi2@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Why? I don’t know anything about the game, is it bad for kids?

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    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      They exploit kids for free labor among other things.

      eurogamer.net/roblox-exploiting-young-game-develo…

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    • paraphrand@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Investigation: How Roblox is Exploiting Young Gamers

      Roblox Pressured us To Delete our Video. So we Dug Deeper.

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    • Carighan@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      It’s bad and it’s kids. Like, the game is no better if you doin’t aim it at kids, but the fact they intentionally employ child labor as a gamified device is just disgusting.

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    • prayer@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      It’s a game designed for kids with not enough moderation/limitations for a kids game. There’s literal porn games if you look in the right places (called ‘condo games’)

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• daniyeg@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  most people are focusing on the free labour roblox is extracting from kids but from the article:

  Further claims stated, according to Turkish media, that Roblox hosted virtual parties promoting pedophilia and that “robux,” the platform’s virtual currency, was being distributed by bot accounts to encourage children’s involvement in these activities, and excess presence of gambling sites and their predatory tactics.

  so it looks like roblox was banned because of bad moderation in regards to gambling and sexual predators, both of which are massive issues of the platform. overall i think this is a good move which hopefully will push roblox to do better.

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  • fritobugger2017@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    thanks for that. not gonna let the littles get on roblox until they are older

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• peopleproblems@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  It is the single most difficult thing as a parent to put my foot down about. Or it was at first.

  My son LOVES watching the YouTubers playing the (horribly developed) games and enjoys making pretend games based on what he watches (some of it, sometimes we have to skip a video). He has a lot of friends at school that play it.

  I will not let my son play it. Minecraft? Sure. Minecraft has a very different system, plenty of it crap, but it’s much easier to supervise and much less exploitive.

  But he does let me know that he feels left out when his friends play it and he can’t. He doesn’t have any siblings, so I understand how it’s difficult to lack that connection to peers. He has other ways he gets to connect - mine craft, local playgyms, events for children, sports.

  As a parent part of the empathy is feeling that sadness that comes from his disappointment in not being allowed to play it. But I think he has started to understand as he’s gotten a little older, that adults making money off of what a kid makes isn’t nice, or fair, or safe.

  Turkey did well here. I don’t think we’ll ever have something similar in the states, but I hope regulation can come about eventually.

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  • killabeezio@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I straight up told my kid that he will not be playing that game. So you’re not alone out there and you’re doing well by taking an interest in your child’s activity and monitoring them appropriately. I wish more parents would do the same.

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  • glizzard@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    If he likes the idea of making games, just find a playlist of Godot or Unreal 5 game building on youtube. Most of that stuff can be done low-code, and would be perfect for someone who wants to click around and make something. It can be frustrating at first… but if you find something that actually works, I bet it’d click

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    • WalnutLum@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      There’s also a block coding plugin for Godot now too!

      github.com/endlessm/godot-block-coding

      Perfect tool to get kids into game creation.

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  • Empricorn@feddit.nl ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Damn, superstar. Save some A++ parenting for other people! Seriously, you must be raising a top-quality person…

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    • peopleproblems@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I wish. There are things we have been unable to change, even with the assistance of a couple of child psychologists.

      When he gets upset with other kids, particularly when they break rules, he is absolutely convinced he needs to be the executive of the rules and often hits or pushes the other kids.

      He was doing it before my ex and I separated. It only seems to happen during the summer at the day care program, so it’s likely something more going on there.

      Kids are still humans, and honestly I have to remind myself I’m doing the best I can. Because if I knew a better way to do things, I’d be doing that instead.

      To me it’s not about raising a superstar, it’s raising someone who shares my values, and is capable of caring for themselves as an adult. Socializing and play is the most vital part of childhood development, so I do everything I can there.

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  • AeroLemming@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    If he likes making simple games, consider introducing him to Scratch. It’s not monetized at all and last I checked, was much better moderated than other online platforms for kids.

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  • Ghostbanjo1949@lemmy.mengsk.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Yeah the same conversations have occurred in my household. I think you made the right choice here. I’m a huge gamer myself and developer, not on Roblox. Usually if anything it’s me being the lenient one when it comes to games in our home, vice my wife. This is one that I did not allow from day 1 regardless of the age of the kid. It was apparent to be a bad apple to me from my initial looks at it, and has only proven that point over the years. I can’t imagine though how hard it is for most parents who are not entrenched in that industry to navigate decisions like that.

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• dinckelman@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Now do it everywhere else

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• mlg@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Roblox is just knockoff exploitative gmod. Only reason it keeps going is because its free to download.

  More annoyed it hasn’t been banned or sued under other consumer protection laws.

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  • zorrothefox2001@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You are smoking crack if you think Roblox is a gmod knockoff, but everything else, unfortunately, yeah. I played Roblox in 2012 and it was pretty fun at 11 years old but the pay2win stuff was out of control even back then.

    There were a few weird roleplay servers but it really just felt like “playing house” online, but the fact that anyone could hop in at any time and send socials was fucking weird to me even as a kid.

    It needs a serious rework of how the platform works if they want to continue marketing themselves as for children. The game has seen barely any safety improvements from what I’ve seen of current gameplay and mfs are wilin on the internet nowadays

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• AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Lol when you agree with a ban that turkey made thats a strange day. Maybe a ban is a bit too much but roblox is shitty and they should be pressured to change… and this applies to most large companies

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• Mwa@thelemmy.club ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Ngl roblox kinda sucks and their moderation is awful

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  • Emerald@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Ngl roblox kinda ##### and their moderation is #####

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    • Mwa@thelemmy.club ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Roblox chat filter

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• Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Good.

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• yamanii@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  This is actually about the “condos”, private ERP instances where children are exploited for robux.

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cr76k3-Zak

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• meldrik@lemmy.wtf ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Nice.

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• glizzard@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I regret to inform you that this news is: BASED

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• Banichan@dormi.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Will someone please explain to me how a video game exploits children.

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  • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Kids make maps. Stuff in the maps is sold for Roblox bucks. Roblox bucks cost money to buy. The kid who makes the map gets the Roblox bucks, and can sell them. The problem is you only get 30% back when you sell a Roblox buck.

    So kids spend time making big maps and servers, buying ads, getting shoutouts on YouTube/whatever, and Roblox takes a 70% cut from all of it

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    • Banichan@dormi.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Sounds like a normal business that gives kids a chance to make money.

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    • ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Isn’t it more like 2%

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  • Donut@leminal.space ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Read the article and find out

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    • Banichan@dormi.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Just give me the broad strokes

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  • elgordino@fedia.io ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You could start with this People Make Games video from a couple of years ago. https://youtu.be/_gXlauRB1EQ?si=Ttg4-Bust1K-X-22

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    • Banichan@dormi.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I said explain. It’s this old school thing we used to do where we JUST TELL A PERSON SOMETHING

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  • eskimofry@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You must not be just a troll… but a mountain troll

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  • paraphrand@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    These guys explain it well, let them:

    Investigation: How Roblox is Exploiting Young Gamers

    Roblox Pressured us To Delete our Video. So we Dug Deeper.

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  • AstralPath@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    It’s not hard to use a search engine.

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• Tixanou@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  W

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• mrvictory1@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  FYI, Instagram was blocked in Turkey a few days before Roblox ban. Both are still blocked.

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  • PlainSimpleGarak@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Based Turkey.

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• WeLoveCastingSpellz@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I hate being tuekish man. Thks is my last year in this country.

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  • AnxiousOtter@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I mean, in this particular case, they’re right. Roblox is predatory AF.

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    • WeLoveCastingSpellz@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      they banned instagram a wrek prior.

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• Pika@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  lol I can see why they would do that

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• mx_smith@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  So this sounds like a parent problem.

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• mx_smith@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Can someone tell me how the kids are being forced to make video games. I have read several of these articles and can’t understand the logic. My kids played Roblox and created games on the platform they were never forced or coerced to make anything. Maybe it’s our messed up capitalistic society that expects everybody to monetize anything that’s fun.

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  • yamanii@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Not coerced, but tricked into thinking they would get money for it while roblox or some other adult creator takes 90% of it.

    At least in my day when we made some small rpg maker 2000 thing for free there wasn’t anyone above me getting rich while I got zilch.

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  • ObsidianNebula@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I watched a video a while back about this, but the details are fuzzy. I think it was the one I linked below if you want to look more into it. In essence, there aren’t a ton of cases where kids are actually being forced to work. However, there are strong incentives for kids to work on Roblox projects that the developers themselves push. The devs want a constant stream of content and money coming in, but they don’t want to pay adult workers at adult wages, so they offer Robux to players who make games. It is difficult for people to convert Robux to actual cash, and the money they receive is often significantly less than they would if they put the effort into any other form of work, so many of these kids are essentially making content for the developers for free or significantly less than they should earn. If there was no payout for content creators and the kids were doing that development just because they had passion for the game, it might be a different situation, but there are quite a few kids that believe they can make serious money doing this and don’t understand that the developers are exploiting them and paying very little. Adults can probably do more research and better understand the situation they are getting into, but kids often don’t have the same critical thinking skills as adults and will accept the lie being pushed by the developers and community that they can get rich by contributing to the game they love.

    Video: youtu.be/_gXlauRB1EQ

    Follow-up: youtu.be/vTMF6xEiAaY

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  • Denjin@lemmings.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    The details are too much to go into here in a simple comment. For a full investigation into Roblox check out this video by People Make Games, a games journalism site:

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ

    Essentially, Roox makes billions off the free labour of children. The entire eco system is set up to funnel kids into a cycle of consuming others content and producing their own. It’s also completely unregulated which has allowed some shady people, some of whom are, or directly work for, the owners of the platform to set up quasi developer studios where children are subjected to the same appealing treatment and exploitation of the regular games industry, while earning none of the revenue.

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    • mx_smith@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Well none of these sources tell me how the kids are forced into this. All these services are free, so I still don’t see the exploitation. Are you saying the kids are tricked into making games for Roblox, if so then maybe that’s on the parents. As a software engineer and having kids who played Roblox their entire lives, I still can’t make the leap of exploitive practices over just capitalism. Maybe show me another platform that kids can learn how the basics of game design while hosting the game at the same time.

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• ColdWater@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Lol nice

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