We’re so excited to be supporting Safer Internet Day 2019! The theme this year is “together for a better internet” and focuses on how people ask for, give, and receive consent online. Part of being a good digital citizen on Roblox is understanding what “consent” means and how to manage your privacy and data. We want to provide the community with the knowledge to navigate the complexities of this topic and offer some friendly resources so we can all do our part to create a better internet for everyone.
Consent in a Digital World
New research released by the UK Safer Internet Centre shows that 62% of young people say being online helps them feel part of a bigger community. As a platform whose mission is to bring people all over the world together through play, we recognize the power that connections can have for young people when they imagine, create, and learn together online.
On Roblox, we consider consent in several ways: the permissions that parents provide for younger users (some information about themselves), the permissions that older users and developers give to us (sharing their usernames, for example), and also for players, every time you chat, help someone with a challenge, or even play in someone else’s virtual world, there is consent sought and given.
Our goal is for every request to be thoughtful and for players to understand what it means to say “yes” or give consent. We also believe in the absolute right to change your mind. At any time, you can change your settings (learn how to adjust your account settings here!), whether privacy, data, or otherwise, and you can withdraw consent to other players. It’s always okay to change your mind, even if you accidentally friend someone you’re not sure about. To help ensure we’re doing everything we can to help you have a positive experience on our platform, check out these Roblox safety tips below:
It’s important to think about being safe online (Safer Internet Day is a perfect time to do this), and we also want everyone in the community to have fun! Being thoughtful and taking a moment to think about what information you’re sharing with others is a helpful step in making this happen.
Get Involved
This week, we’ll be supporting events in the U.S. and U.K. and posting helpful advice on our channels to encourage the community to take part and have fun. We invite you to participate by tuning into the Safer Internet Day livestream on Tuesday, February 5 at 10:00 a.m. PST. The event will include panels featuring Seattle high school students and executives from Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.
You can also join the conversation now by using the hashtags #SID2019 and #SaferInternetDay. Share your thoughts about what’s important to you online and how to build a better internet for everyone.
Lastly, be sure to visit https://www.saferinternet.org.uk to find a collection of great videos, activities, and tips for kids, parents, and educators.
We’d like to wish all our players across the world a very happy Safer Internet Day!