A trio of advocacy groups are speaking out against Roblox's new "sensitive issues" label for community-created content. Women in Games, Out Making Games, and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Talent (BAME) in Games released a joint letter on Tuesday arguing that Roblox's decision to implement a new content filtering system for certain topics is "a step backward for both creative expression and social justice," stating the policy treats equality and human rights "as debatable rather than fundamental."
The letter comes after Roblox announced in August that it will be blocking access to content centered around certain topics for users under 13 unless they get a parent's permission. Roblox did not give a firm list of these "sensitive issues," saying vaguely that they include "any current sensitive social, political, or religious issue" with "polarized viewpoints" or a potential to trigger a "strong emotional response."
The announcement on the new policy gave some examples, stating that "issues such as immigration, capital punishment, gun control, marriage equality, pay equity in sports, prayer in schools, racial profiling, affirmative action, vaccination policies, and reproductive rights qualify as 'sensitive issues'.
"Please note that this is not a comprehensive or finite list - any issue that meets the above criteria qualifies as a 'sensitive issue.' These issues are topics that are frequently in the news and inspire strong opinions and emotional debate."
Women in Games, Out Making Games, and BAME in Games pushed back against the policy in their letter, stating, "We support efforts to keep children safe online—especially girls, who face disproportionate harassment and grooming. But safety cannot be achieved by silencing content that educates and empowers."
They went on to add, "Instead of protecting children, the policy risks teaching Roblox’s diverse audience that issues of justice and equality are controversial opinions rather than universal values, thereby reinforcing the very divisions it claims to guard against."
Regardless of individual opinions on any of the topics Roblox's new content label applies to, the advocacy groups' letter closes with a good point: why not simply stick to transparent, established age rating systems like PEGI or ESRB? Roblox announced last month that it is adding ESRB ratings to experiences on its platform, so choosing to have this second content filter is a perplexing choice. Trying to filter content based on a broad, yet vague and highly subjective label like "sensitive issues" seems needlessly complicated and contentious when there are objective age rating systems that could be used instead.
