Roblox is one of the most popular platforms in the world: it is a gateway to a massive online universe hosting a seemingly endless number of mini-games, played by about 90 million users from 190 countries daily.

Warning: This story contains distressing content. 

The colourful block characters in Roblox look like child's play, but its open chat room function has a dark side.

A British mother told 7.30 her nine-year-old daughter was targeted by a predator on Roblox in September. For legal reasons, we cannot reveal the mother or daughter's identity.

"I genuinely thought only children went on there. I was very naive," the woman said.

The girl was lured off the platform by a stranger who bombarded the girl with sexually explicit messages on multiple third-party messaging platforms.

Discord is a social chat platform commonly used by gamers that allows users to engage in messaging, voice, and video chat.

The messages seen by 7.30 begin by describing the nine-year-old as "cute" before rapidly becoming graphic with messages simulating sex. 

One message said: "starts thrusting and the bed shake" (sic). 

Other messages seen by 7.30 were too graphic to publish.

The mother reported the messages to her local police who then referred the matter to Interpol. The suspect was tracked down to Minnesota, United States.

Local authorities have told 7.30 there is an "open and ongoing" investigation.

Two months after her daughter was contacted by the alleged predator on Roblox her mother says the nine-year-old does not want to discuss it.

Socialising with strangers

Inside a Roblox mini-game or experience, there are thousands of players of all ages mingling and chatting.

The youngest players on the platform are believed to be around seven years of age, while the maximum age limit to sign up is 99 years old.

To combat predatory behaviour, the platform announced a suite of safety changes last month.

Players under the age of 13 are no longer allowed to speak to other users outside of mini-games and experiences, while parents can now remotely manage a child's friend list on the game.

"We have an entire investigative process running behind the scenes to make sure that what's happening on the platform is safe," Roblox chief safety officer Matt Kaufman told 7.30. 

Mr Kaufman said Roblox takes a multi-tiered approach to safety and uses AI and automation to review all content that is uploaded to the platform.

“We have thousands of people around the world, they speak lots of different languages and they're working 24/7. They’re training the AI,” Mr Kaufman said.

But, players under the age of 13 are still able to speak to anyone via the chat function if they are inside a mini-game.

"Our youngest users can still communicate with other players in a game. That's often part of just playing the game. It's like coordinating gameplay. You have teams and you're doing all kinds of stuff," Mr Kaufman said.

It is this chat room function that online safety advocates say needs to be examined by the federal government, which has just passed legislation banning social media for children under 16. 

Mr Kaufman denies Roblox is a form of social media.

"We're watching what's happening in Australia, and we're eager to partner with the government to figure out what makes the most sense for operating in Australia."

In a statement to 7.30, a spokesperson for Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said: "Gaming and messaging apps are not in scope of the legislation. (Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024)."

"Online games are already subject to classifications that give parents clear guidance about age suitability."

Rethinking Roblox?

Kirra Pendergast is an online safety educator and has spoken to students at more than 800 schools. 

She says most of her presentations are on Roblox. 

"I think they need to be pulled up by the government. I would like the Australian eSafety Commissioner to pull Roblox in and say, 'You are a social media platform. You're not a game,'" Ms Pendergast told 7.30.

"There's quite a few things I think that they could do better around their moderation."

In the Hunter Valley, 7.30 attended Ms Pendergast's online safety presentations to Year 3 and 4 students at Scone Grammar School.

Almost every child in the room had played Roblox.

When Ms Pendergast asked the students whether they had ever seen "adult content" that made them feel uncomfortable on Roblox, many raised their hands.

The students continued to hold their hands up when she asked: "Who's ever had someone say, follow me on Snapchat, or follow me on Discord?"

"Play is a fundamentally important part of human development, but in a game called Roblox, it actually normalises some really wildly inappropriate behaviour."

Deputy Principal Joseph Lynch said he was shocked by how many young students had access to gaming.

"I think one of the things that shocked me is how younger and younger students are getting where they're accessing their own devices, where they're online and they're gaming," he said.

Ms Pendergast continued to ask the kids a series of questions that made them squirm and giggle, including whether they had ever been asked to be someone's girlfriend or boyfriend on Roblox.

Then she shared one final message for the group.

"This is the most important thing you're going to hear all day to keep you safe on the game," she said. 

"If you treat Roblox like it's a giant shopping centre, if you see people laying around in their undies, someone offers you money to do something or someone asks you to follow them on to Snapchat or TikTok – you need to immediately tell your trusted adult.

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