How do you completely bungle an interview about child safety on a platform facing 20+ lawsuits and multiple state investigations for failing to protect kids from predators? Ask Roblox [finance:Roblox Corporation] CEO David Baszucki, who just delivered what might be the most tone-deaf, unprepared, and outright bizarre executive interview of 2025. During the New York Times Hard Fork podcast on November 21, Baszucki described predators targeting children as an opportunity, acted like a petulant child when pressed on safety failures, and literally said high five multiple times while discussing pedophiles exploiting his platform.
The interview comes as Roblox faces extraordinary scrutiny after decades of failing to implement basic protective measures for its 150 million mostly preteen users. Hindenburg Research famously described the platform as an X-rated pedophile hellscape for kids in their damning 2024 report. Since 2018 in the United States alone, at least two dozen people have been arrested for abducting or abusing victims they groomed using Roblox. The company finally rolled out rudimentary age verification measures this month, prompting the Times to ask Baszucki some obvious questions about why it took 19 years to try stopping adults from targeting children.
The Interview Started With an Unbelievable Answer
When New York Times reporter Casey Newton asked Baszucki about the scope of the problem with predators on Roblox, the CEO responded with possibly the worst opening line imaginable. We think of it not necessarily just as a problem, but an opportunity as well. An opportunity. Predators targeting children on your platform is an opportunity. He continued explaining how wonderful it is that young people can build and communicate together, how they have 150 million daily actives, 11 billion hours a month, like what is the best way to keep pushing this forward.
It is the most astonishingly tone-deaf response possible when asked specifically about child predators. Baszucki immediately pivoted to celebrating the scale of his platform and talking about growth metrics as if the question was about market expansion rather than pedophiles using Roblox to find victims. The fact that this was his prepared response, the first thing out of his mouth, reveals how disconnected he is from the severity of the situation his company created.
Newton attempted to get sensible answers about how the new ID checks will work and why they won’t be as easily evaded as previous measures. Baszucki offered corporate waffle about looking for weird signals and requesting further age verification when these appear, though he couldn’t explain what those signals might be or what further checks would entail. When pressed on why it took 19 years to even try stopping adults from speaking to children, Baszucki talked about evolution of text filtering technology for inappropriate language, which clearly wasn’t relevant to the question asked.
Things Got Worse From There
Newton wasn’t having it. Yeah, I mean, I don’t know. When I read these lawsuits and these investigations into the company, it does not seem like predators are having that hard of a time getting around your filters. So I’m curious what’s made you so confident that things are working? Baszucki’s response was incoherent rambling before saying I don’t want to comment on it when asked why he’s confident in age technology that demonstrably doesn’t work.
Newton pointed out that lawsuits demonstrate Roblox is kind of where predators go to find kids. Baszucki tried claiming this was misrepresentation. When pressed on whether he truly doesn’t believe Roblox has a predator problem, he replied I think we’re doing an incredible job at innovating relative to the number of people on our platform and the hours, in really leaning in to the future of how this is going to work. That’s not an answer. That’s corporate speak designed to avoid acknowledging reality.
The High Five Tantrum
The interview reached peak absurdity when Newton asked about the Hindenburg Research report claiming Roblox reduced spending on trust and safety. Hindenburg was an activist short-selling research firm that investigated companies for fraud and malfeasance until its creator disbanded the group in January 2025. At the time of their report calling Roblox a pedophile hellscape, Baszucki claimed it was wrong to say the company reduced safety spending, so Newton asked for specifics.
Fun, says Baszucki, a man pathologically incapable of reading the room. Let’s keep going down this. And so, first off, Hindenburg is not longer in existence, correct? So, you should report on that. They went out of business for some reason. He then demanded Newton confirm whether he researched the answer himself before explaining they moved safety regulation onto AI, sounding absolutely furious he was being asked about it.
He demanded Newton agree that if AI is more effective, it’s better to use it. When Newton did agree with that specific hypothetical, Baszucki started acting incredibly immaturely. Good, so you’re aligning with what we did. High-five. Then when Newton tried asking a question, Baszucki interrupted with Thank you for supporting our Roblox decision matrix. He interrupted again saying I’m so glad you guys are aligned with the way we run Roblox. High-five.
The Interruptions Wouldn’t Stop
Think he was done? Absolutely not. Yet again he interrupted with Is this a stealth interview where actually you love everything we’re doing and you’re here to stealthily support it? When co-host Kevin Roose tried getting things back on rails, Baszucki kept going with the same pathetic line. The only thing that stopped this tantrum was letting the CEO talk about Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market.
The childish behavior revealed someone completely unprepared for legitimate questions and incapable of handling pressure. Instead of addressing concerns, Baszucki tried turning the interview into a game where he could claim the reporters supported Roblox’s decisions. It was embarrassing to witness from someone running a company responsible for protecting millions of children.
The Scope of Roblox’s Predator Problem
Understanding why this interview matters requires understanding the severity of Roblox’s safety failures. The platform was created for children, with over 40 percent of its users being preteens. Unlike other social media apps that bar kids under 13 or create sanitized versions, Roblox actively markets to and profits from the youngest demographic. That market comes with special hazards the company systematically ignored for nearly two decades.
Bloomberg Businessweek published an in-depth investigation in July 2024 titled Roblox’s Pedophile Problem. The report documented how since 2018 in the United States alone, at least 24 people have been arrested for abducting or abusing victims they met or groomed using Roblox. These weren’t just lurkers outside the virtual playground. They were actively hanging from the jungle gym, using Robux virtual currency to lure kids into sending photographs or developing relationships that moved to other platforms and eventually offline.
One moderator interviewed by Bloomberg said her team receives hundreds of escalated reports involving child safety every day. Current and former trust and safety workers stated that user growth at Roblox takes priority over child safety, with proposals for stronger safety settings in line with online safety laws being routinely ignored. In 2023, Roblox reported 13,316 instances of child exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The Hindenburg Report
Hindenburg Research published their scathing report in October 2024 with the subtitle Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids. The investigation found Roblox to be an X-rated pedophile hellscape, replete with users attempting to groom our avatars, groups openly trading child pornography, widely accessible sex games, violent content and extremely abusive speech, all of which is open to young children.
The report came three months after Bloomberg’s investigation and added allegations that Roblox inflates user metrics for Wall Street investors. Hindenburg claimed the company reduced trust and safety spending to report growth, prioritizing stock performance over protecting the children who make up their user base. Roblox denied these claims, but the company’s actions spoke louder than denials.
The Legal Avalanche
Roblox currently faces over 20 lawsuits plus multiple state investigations related to child safety failures. Louisiana’s attorney general sued Roblox in August 2025, calling the platform the perfect place for predators. Kentucky’s attorney general filed a separate lawsuit. Florida’s attorney general issued a criminal subpoena labeling Roblox a breeding ground for predators. Multiple families have filed civil suits after children were groomed, exploited, and in some instances kidnapped through the platform.
One particularly tragic case involves Becca Dallas, whose 15-year-old son Ethan took his own life after being groomed through Roblox and Discord. Cases from Iowa, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Louisiana detail instances where children weren’t merely cyberbullied but allegedly groomed, trafficked, and sexually exploited through interactions starting on Roblox. These aren’t edge cases. They represent systemic failures to protect vulnerable users.
A major lawsuit filed in Texas calls out Roblox for not doing enough to keep kids safe, claiming the company’s safety tools, moderation systems, and overall design failed to protect young players. The case highlights how Roblox knowingly hosts and promotes sexually explicit content without adequate barriers preventing children from accessing it. Users create Roblox pornography where avatars simulate sexual acts, accessible to any child on the platform.
What Took So Long
Roblox launched in 2006. It took until November 2025, 19 years later, for the company to implement basic age verification requiring adults to confirm their age before messaging children. That’s not innovation. That’s negligence. The company consistently prioritized growth and profitability over the safety of the children whose engagement generates those profits.
The new measures announced this month include AI-based age verification through government ID or selfie scans. Users can also verify through spending patterns or other signals Baszucki couldn’t articulate during the interview. Whether these measures will actually work remains questionable given the company’s history of easily evaded protections. Predators have demonstrated repeatedly that Roblox’s moderation can be bypassed with minimal effort.
The Business Model Problem
Beyond predators, Roblox faces fundamental ethical questions about its business model. The platform relies on child labor, exploiting young developers to create content that generates billions in revenue. Kids build games and experiences within Roblox, receive 30 percent of sales while Roblox takes 70 percent. Young creators work for Robux that converts to real money at terrible exchange rates, essentially providing free or severely underpaid labor that fuels a company worth billions.
Bookings last year reached $3.5 billion, mostly from Robux sales. The company employs approximately 3,000 moderators for 78 million daily users. TikTok, with three times the daily users, employs 40,000 moderators. Roblox argues number of moderators isn’t an indicator of quality, but the ratio speaks to prioritization. When you underspend on safety while raking in billions from children’s labor and parents’ wallets, it reveals where your values lie.
Baszucki repeatedly fell back on scale during the interview, as if 150 million daily actives and 11 billion hours monthly somehow justified safety failures. But scale makes the problem worse, not better. More users means more potential victims. More hours means more opportunities for grooming. The CEO treats scale as an accomplishment rather than recognizing it amplifies his company’s responsibility and the severity of its failures.
The Investor Focus
Multiple times during the interview, Baszucki pivoted from discussing child safety to talking about financial opportunities. When Newton pointed out Roblox wants those user numbers to grow, Baszucki immediately switched to discussing what an amazing financial opportunity this represents. He kept saying things like And you could imagine Roblox at 20-X this scale, having 50 percent of the gaming market space all in a single place.
This reveals who Baszucki actually cares about. He’s speaking to investors and analysts concerned about Roblox’s struggles to turn users into profits. The company trades publicly, and stock performance depends on convincing Wall Street that growth will eventually generate returns. But prioritizing investor relations over protecting children from predators is exactly the problem that landed Roblox in this position.
What Parents Should Know
If your children play Roblox, you need to understand what they’re exposed to. The platform allows communication between strangers, including adults messaging children. Predators use in-game currency to build relationships with kids, offer rewards for photographs, and groom them for exploitation. The chat filters can be bypassed easily. Moderators receive hundreds of child safety escalations daily but can’t keep up with the scale.
Sexually explicit content exists throughout the platform despite being against terms of service. Users create games simulating sexual acts. Groups trade child pornography. Violent content and abusive speech are widespread. The new age verification measures might help, but they’re untested and Roblox’s track record suggests they’ll be inadequate.
The 5Rights Foundation, a children’s digital rights organization, has called for regulatory intervention. Chair and Founder Baroness Beeban Kidron stated Roblox is a consumer-facing product and in order to trade, it has to be safe for children and it has to have by-design mechanisms that mean it does not enable predators to convene or search for children. Currently, those mechanisms don’t exist or don’t work.
FAQs
What did the Roblox CEO say in the interview?
David Baszucki called predators targeting children an opportunity, acted childishly by repeatedly saying high five when pressed on safety failures, and gave incoherent non-answers to basic questions about why Roblox took 19 years to implement age verification for adults messaging children.
What is the Hindenburg Research report about Roblox?
Hindenburg Research published a report in October 2024 calling Roblox an X-rated pedophile hellscape exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and abusive speech. The report also alleged the company inflates user metrics for Wall Street while reducing safety spending.
How many lawsuits does Roblox face?
Roblox currently faces over 20 lawsuits plus multiple state investigations from Louisiana, Kentucky, Florida and other states related to child safety failures, with families alleging children were groomed, exploited, trafficked and in some cases kidnapped through the platform.
How many predators have been arrested from Roblox?
Since 2018 in the United States alone, at least 24 people have been arrested for abducting or abusing victims they met or groomed using Roblox, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Roblox reported 13,316 instances of child exploitation in 2023.
What are Roblox’s new safety measures?
In November 2025, Roblox implemented AI-based age verification requiring adults to confirm age through government ID or selfie scans before messaging children. The measures came 19 years after the platform launched and only after intense legal pressure.
Is Roblox safe for children?
No, multiple investigations, lawsuits, and reports from safety experts indicate Roblox has systematic safety failures that expose children to predators, sexually explicit content, grooming, and exploitation. The platform has been called a pedophile hellscape by researchers.
How many users does Roblox have?
Roblox has approximately 150 million daily active users generating 11 billion hours of engagement monthly. Over 40 percent of users are preteens, making it one of the largest children’s platforms in the world.
Conclusion
David Baszucki’s disastrous New York Times interview revealed exactly why Roblox has become a pedophile hellscape. The CEO is fundamentally unserious about child safety, views predators as a business opportunity, prioritizes growth metrics over protecting victims, and acts like a petulant child when held accountable for his company’s failures. Nineteen years of negligence enabled at least 24 arrests of predators who groomed and abused children through the platform. Over 20 lawsuits and multiple state investigations document systematic failures to implement basic protections. The new age verification measures announced this month are too little, too late, and likely inadequate given Roblox’s track record. What makes this especially galling is Baszucki’s complete lack of preparation and understanding. When asked obvious questions about safety failures, he couldn’t provide coherent answers. When pressed on why measures took 19 years to implement, he talked about text filtering technology. When confronted with evidence that predators easily bypass protections, he said high five and accused interviewers of secretly supporting Roblox. It was pathetic performance from someone responsible for protecting 150 million users, most of them children. Parents need to understand what their kids are exposed to on Roblox. The platform allows adults to message children. Predators use virtual currency to groom victims. Sexually explicit content is widespread. Moderators can’t keep up with hundreds of daily child safety escalations. The company prioritizes growth and profits over implementing protections that would reduce engagement or anger users. Until regulators force meaningful change or families abandon the platform entirely, Roblox will remain exactly what researchers called it: an X-rated pedophile hellscape exposing children to exploitation while its CEO celebrates the opportunity that represents for shareholder value.