It’s been confirmed that Roblox is involved in an “active investigation” by the US Government.
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In response to a freedom of information request filed by Bloomberg, it’s been discovered that Roblox is involved in an ongoing investigation being led by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, whose primary goal is to crack down on manipulation of financial markets.
“We have confirmed with Division of Enforcement staff that there are responsive emails between Enforcement staff referencing Roblox and that these emails are a part of an active and ongoing investigation,” the SEC said.
However the extent of Roblox’s involvement, or who the subject of the investigation actually is, hasn’t been revealed. The SEC said sharing any further information would cause “harm to the ongoing enforcement proceedings” and Roblox hasn’t responded to any requests for comment.
In 2021, a video from People Make Games claimed that Roblox was taking advantage of its young playerbase by selling them the dream that they could become entrepreneurs with their creations and earn “serious cash” in the process.
The documentary went on to claim that Roblox is designed to “turn its young users into workers”, with any money earned via the game’s Create tool paid out as in-game currency Roblux, with Roblox taking a 75.5 per cent cut of all profits.
Last year, Roblox boss Stefano Corazza responded to the allegations. “You can say, ‘OK, we are exploiting child labour,’ right? Or, you can say we are offering people anywhere in the world the capability to get a job and an income,” he said. “I can be a 15-years-old living in a slum in Indonesia, and with just a laptop, I can create something, make money and then sustain my life.”
“I focus more on the amount of money that we distribute every year to creators, which is now getting close to a billion dollars, which is phenomenal,” he continued. “And imagine the millions of kids that learn how to code every month. I think that we are really focusing on the learning – the curriculum, if you want – and really bringing people on and empowering them to be professionals.”
Last October, another report accused Roblox of deliberately inflating the number of people playing the game, which it later denied.
In other news, it’s been confirmed that Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime show was inspired by video games.
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