Roblox Defends Vigilante Ban, Faces New Wave of Criticism from Creators
- Sagar Mankar
- Aug 14
- 3 min read
On August 13, 2025, Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman published a blog post titled “More on our Removal of Vigilantes From Roblox” — a direct follow-up to the backlash over the platform’s recent ban of vigilante groups, most notably YouTuber Schlep.
While Kaufman’s post never mentioned Schlep by name, the timing and tone made it clear that Roblox was responding to the uproar surrounding his ban and the accompanying cease-and-desist letter sent earlier this month.
Roblox’s Case Against Vigilantes
In the post, Kaufman acknowledged that vigilantes often have "well-intentions," but argued that their evolving tactics now create "an unsafe environment for users." Roblox claims these groups have now shifted from reporting dangerous behavior to engaging in actions that "mimicked inappropriate behavior," which is "unacceptable."
"Similar to actual predators, they often impersonated minors, actively approached other users, then tried to lead them to other platforms to have sexually explicit conversations (which is against our Terms of Use)," the author wrote.
"These were not one-off situations, and we saw the behavior accelerating across many accounts. This activity created an unsafe environment and normalized behavior that is both unacceptable on Roblox," Kaufman added.
Roblox’s Preferred Approach
Roblox reiterated that all reports of inappropriate behavior should be filed through its built-in reporting tools, which capture crucial context and allow faster, verifiable action.
The post highlighted:
Over 1 billion reports filed annually by users.
Partnerships with the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
A Trusted Flagger Program for vetted partners to escalate urgent threats.
Roblox claimed vigilante groups sometimes withheld reports until after they had "coordinated real-life meetups and built their own social media posts", leaving alleged predators on the platform longer.
In 2024, Roblox said it submitted 24,522 reports to NCMEC, representing 0.12% of the 20.3 million total received industry-wide.
Schlep’s Response: “They Compared Me to Predators”
Shortly after the blog went live, Schlep responded in a lengthy X thread, accusing Roblox of “tripling down” and making an “outrageous comparison” between his decoy work and actual predatory behavior.
He defended his methods as standard practice for FBI, ICAC task forces, and local police, arguing that predators attempting to meet decoys represent genuine inappropriate behavior and safety risks, not mere "mimicking."
As a former grooming victim on Roblox himself, Schlep called the insinuation personally offensive and again offered to work with the company for free to improve safety.
He also promoted U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna’s petition demanding Roblox increase transparency and predator enforcement.
Other Influencers Weigh In
Ruben Sim, a former vigilante and longtime Roblox critic, accused the company of "gaslighting the public" about the effectiveness of its safety systems, noting that NCMEC reports from Roblox quadrupled between 2022 and 2023. He suggested unbanning Schlep and giving him a direct moderation line could turn the PR crisis into a “huge win.”
KreekCraft, a Roblox streamer with 13 million YouTube subscribers, argued that vigilantes exist because "Roblox isn’t doing their job" in protecting children.
NightFoxx, a family-friendly Roblox content creator, also reacted in a post quoted by Schlep, dismissing Roblox's concerns about vigilantes' "profit motive" as hypocritical since much of Roblox's operations are profit-driven. He argued that monetizing predator-catching benefits the community and offered to fund anyone keeping kids safe, urging Roblox to "do your job" to eliminate the need for vigilantes.
The controversy continues to intensify, with community sentiment largely siding with vigilantes and questioning whether Roblox’s moderation systems are sufficient without them.
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