Roblox Corp (RBLX) shares took a hit on Thursday after The Bear Cave, a short-selling firm, released another damning report accusing the video game company of “facilitating widespread child abuse.” This is the fourth time The Bear Cave has targeted Roblox since 2022, and the latest report once again delves into serious allegations surrounding child abuse across the United States.
The Bear Cave’s report alleges a range of disturbing activities on the platform, including the production of child pornography, child kidnappings, and physical abuse. It also claims that Roblox has potentially played a role in mass shooting events and may be used by foreign actors to spread antisemitism and terrorism.
The short seller highlights several news reports from recent years that suggest predators have used Roblox to exploit “hundreds” of children. They argue that these reported cases are merely the “tip of the iceberg,” implying that numerous child abuse cases related to Roblox remain undetected by authorities and the media.
The Bear Cave backs up its claims with screenshots from videos posted by independent vigilante journalists who conduct sting operations to catch child predators. One video focuses on a Roblox game developer who discusses private communities on the platform where age gap relationships are allegedly “relatively common.”
The report also delves into antisemitic and terroristic content on Roblox, citing examples like school shooting games and Holocaust reenactments, some of which The Bear Cave suggests may have been created by foreign actors. The report alleges that a Roblox user uploaded a realistic school shooting game to the platform, which was reportedly removed before being uploaded a year later and removed again. The short seller also alleges that the perpetrator of a real-world shooting at a Tops Supermarket in 2022 claimed his interest in guns stemmed from playing Roblox.
The Bear Cave further alleges that Roblox has antisemitism problems and claims that the platform “appears to have allowed Holocaust reenactment games” to be uploaded as recently as 2022. The report also points to a recently unsealed indictment against Syrian national Mohammad Amr Alhashemi, who allegedly used Discord and Guilded to recruit children. The Bear Cave notes that Roblox acquired Guilded in 2021, though the company wasn’t directly mentioned in the indictment.
Following the initial report from The Bear Cave in 2022, Roblox issued a statement to Benzinga, calling the short report misleading and false. “Since the day we were founded, we have always built a safety-first culture with industry-leading features and functionality designed to ensure our platform provides a safe and civil space for our community,” a Roblox spokesperson told Benzinga in 2022. “We have zero tolerance for inappropriate content and behavior in our social spaces. In an effort to eliminate unsafe content, we review every single image, audio file and video before it is published.”
Roblox shares were down 2.04% at $42.51 at the time of publication. The company is yet to issue a formal response to the latest report from The Bear Cave.
