Roblox drama explained as petition to remove CEO gets 100,000 signatures after Schlep ban

A petition calling for the resignation of Roblox CEO David Baszucki has been signed more than 100,000 times after 'predator hunter' YouTuber Schlep was banned from the platform.

The 22-year-old content creator, with around 650k subscribers on YouTube, posted screenshots on social media of what he claimed was a cease and desist letter from a law firm acting on behalf of Roblox, detailing the ban on all of his accounts and potential further consequences if he ever tries to access the platform again.

Schlep said he has accessed Roblox since he was eight-years-old and claims his actions over the years have led to the arrest of six alleged 'predators'.

This sparked a huge backlash online, so much so a petition against Baszucki on Change.org has got more than 110,000 signatures.

But what happened exactly?

Why did Schlep get banned on Roblox?

Schlep seems to have been banned from Roblox for violating the platform's terms of use and community standards through continued 'predator hunting'.

What did Roblox's cease and desist letter say?

Schlep posted on X / Twitter what he claims is a cease and desist letter from a law firm acting on behalf of Roblox.

The screenshots said: "This letter serves as a formal cease and desist notice regarding your unauthorised and harmful activities on the Roblox platform.

"Your actions are a violation of Roblox policies and directly undermine Roblox's safety efforts and, critically, are exposing our users to increased risk.

"While Roblox acknowledges that your stated intentions may be to protect children, and while it recognises the serious nature of online predatory behavior, your methods, including failing to immediately report suspicious activity to Roblox through proper channels, are actively interfering with Roblox's established safety protocols and, critically, are exposing Roblox's users to increased risk.

"Accordingly, and pursuant to Roblox's policies, Roblox will be closing your accounts. Please note that Roblox Community Standards prohibit opening new accounts to evade an enforcement action.

"Therefore we demand that you cease and desist from accessing the Roblox platform."

Schlep was banned from Roblox and issued a cease and desist letter, which sparked a huge backlash online and a petition calling for the resignation of Roblox CEO David Baszucki / Schlep, YouTube & Getty Images

What has Schlep said?

Speaking in a recent YouTube video about it, Schlep said: "This is pretty heartbreaking to me because I've been playing since I was a little kid. I love this platform, I still do.

"I met my current girlfriend who I've been dating for three years, I live with her. We first met all the way back in 2016 through Roblox.

"I love so much about this site and that's why I'm so critical of it because I want it to see it do better."

He also showed an anonymous email from what he said was a "kid who was thanking me for getting someone he was getting groomed by arrested in real life".

Schlep went on to say he has tried to engage in conversation with Roblox multiple times about the best way to report suspicious users in a number of different ways to no avail and that Roblox banning his account is the first time he has heard from them directly.

In the video, Schlep himself said he was previously groomed on Roblox and his mother reporting this did not lead to the alleged groomer being banned which is why he took it upon himself to track down predators on the platform.

He added: "I have no plans of revisiting the platform. I will not be making a new account. I will not be going back on the site."

What has Roblox said?

A spokesperson for Roblox told Indy100: "At Roblox, we want all of our users to have a safe and positive experience and have robust Community Standards in place to prohibit content or behaviour that may be inappropriate or harmful.

"While we maintain comprehensive on-platform abuse reporting tools, and actively encourage our users to use them to alert us to potentially harmful activity, we believe that safety enforcement should be left to trained professionals and proper authorities, not individual users, and we work closely with and actively seek law enforcement's input on safety matters.

"In addition to dedicated internal teams that investigate safety threats and escalate serious issues, Roblox also has a trusted flagger program, where close and trusted partners can report suspected serious criminal activity to us, such as terrorism, violent extremism and possible child exploitation.

"Any reports we receive are promptly reviewed and, as appropriate, actioned within a short timeframe."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Why is there a petition against Roblox CEO David Baszucki?

Schlep's ban has not gone down well at all across the internet and led to a petition being launched against Roblox CEO David Baszucki, calling for him to step down.

It's got more than 110,000 signatures at the time of writing, showing just how strongly so many people feel about this.

Despite Roblox explaining its decision, position and policy against harmful users and content, many users online believe the platform is not doing enough to protect its own users, especially younger ones including children.

Soon after the petition was launched, Roblox posted a video on its YouTube channel of Baszucki speaking with chief safety officer Matt Kaufman and senior director of product Policy Eliza Jacobs to speak about how the platform is "advancing its commitment to safety, civility and freedom on the platform".

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