Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki appeared on The New York Times’ Hard Fork podcast to discuss the platform’s new age-verification feature, but the conversation grew tense as hosts pressed on child safety issues.
Baszucki opened the interview by outlining the age-verification system, which mandates that users submit a face scan to access Roblox’s messaging capabilities. This measure aims to enhance user protections by verifying ages more accurately within the gaming environment.
As questions turned to child safety, Baszucki displayed signs of frustration. Hosts referenced a report alleging that Roblox had favored platform growth over safety protocols. In response, Baszucki stated, “Fun. Let’s keep going down this,” indicating his reluctance to dwell solely on the topic.
Co-host Kevin Roose proposed that advancing AI models could strengthen child safety efforts on the platform. Baszucki replied, “Good, so you’re aligning with what we did. High-five,” suggesting alignment with Roblox’s existing initiatives in this area.
Baszucki emphasized his broader intentions for the appearance, saying, “And I want to highlight, I came here because I love your podcast and came to talk about everything.” He further noted, “So if our PR people said, ‘Let’s talk about age-gating for an hour,’ I’m up for it, but I love your pod. I thought I came here to talk about everything.” This clarified his willingness to address age-gating specifically if directed, while expressing enthusiasm for the podcast’s usual diverse discussions.
