A multi-billion dollar corporation has taken its sights on one vigilante YouTuber, Schlep. Someone who was once a normal user of Roblox has now joined the lifetime ban club. A big legal battle has ensued, with one side wanting to end vigilantism on their platform and the vigilante group fighting against the unfair treatment they face. The ongoing legal battle opens up discussion in online safety and accountability.
I rule in favor of Schlep. As we all know, Schlep has been under fire by pursuing another method of the platform, Roblox’s online safety by planning sting operations to catch predators. Despite his unconventional and controversial way of keeping the platform safe, Schlep’s impact on the platform has been genuinely positive. He exposes users that attempt to exploit children and prevents further endangerment of Roblox’s younger playerbase.
People often forget about an important aspect of platform safety: the platform’s own accountability. Schlep’s videos on YouTube highlight and demonstrate Roblox’s extremely flawed moderation, which is something that they claim to be strong. An example is the chat filter that blocks many inappropriate phrases. However, there are many games that bypass the entire chat filter. Yes, there have been many incidents of unsafe interactions between young users and adults. There are many games that are still on the platform that encourage inappropriate interactions. Schlep, with his large viewership, shines even more light on the flaws in the platform, encouraging Roblox to take accountability.
Challengers of Schlep’s position and Roblox themselves may say that Schlep violated the terms of service by engaging in unauthorized and harmful activity, accusing Schlep of the impersonation of minors and starting inappropriate conversations. It is hypocritical of Roblox because their platform has major safety concerns of younger players that often failed at protecting them. Schlep has removed predators off the platform and involved law enforcement, leading to multiple arrests. In a platform like Roblox with its moderation, there is no complex, difficult reason as to why Schlep took action. Schlep didn’t deserve a cease-and-desist letter for what he did.
Roblox needs to come up and take accountability for their lack of good moderation. Not only take accountability, but up their own standards to ensure the safety of their community. If left unchanged, Roblox shouldn’t be against vigilantism or be surprised when another Schlep appears.