Roblox Corp. CEO David Baszucki drew attention today after a newly released New York Times interview on the Hard Fork podcast. Hosts Casey Newton and Kevin Roose challenged Baszucki on Roblox’s child-safety practices, an issue back in the public spotlight following lawsuits from parents and several state attorneys general accusing the company of failing to prevent predators from targeting young users.

Baszucki appeared on the podcast to talk about new age-verification technologies being folded into Roblox’s moderation systems, but the conversation quickly turned confrontational as he defended the platform’s safety record and sparred with the hosts.

“Fun. Let’s keep going down this,” Baszucki said. “First of all, Hindenburg no longer exists, correct? You should report that they went out of business for a reason. And have you actually researched that information?”

“Great, so you’re aligned with what we did. High-five,” he added, briefly brushing past follow-up questions. “Thanks for supporting our Roblox decision matrix. I’m glad you’re aligned with how we run Roblox. High-five. Is this some kind of stealth interview where you secretly love everything we’re doing and came here to support it?”

Baszucki seemed eager to discuss other tech topics

Baszucki appeared more animated when discussing prediction markets such as Polymarket, suggesting they might sometimes outperform journalists at forecasting outcomes. He said he would be open to prediction-market-style experiences on Roblox, provided they did not involve Robux or in-game items.

Throughout the interview, Baszucki maintained that internal Roblox data shows the platform is “amazing” for children and that safety continues to improve, in part due to advances in AI-driven moderation.

“I think we’re doing an incredible job innovating at the scale of our user base and the number of hours spent on the platform, really leaning into the future of how this should work,” he said when asked whether Roblox had a predator problem.

He also reiterated comments made earlier this year to Eurogamer about parental responsibility. “Parents are the ultimate arbiters. If a parent isn’t comfortable letting their child go to the park, play with a certain toy, or be on Roblox, who am I to say otherwise?”

A headline summarizing the exchange described it as “tense,” a word that may not fully capture the mood. The discussion grew more heated when Roose referenced an October 2024 report from activist fund Hindenburg Research—since shut down—that labeled Roblox “a pedophile hellscape for kids.”

Baszucki pushed back, questioning Roose about his own research into Roblox’s trust and safety efforts, before returning to the claim that improved AI models are making moderation more effective. He then slipped into sarcasm, asking Roose whether he would “choose” those upgraded systems.

Several of Baszucki’s remarks suggested frustration with the focus on moderation rather than broader industry topics. Newton noted that the hosts had been told Baszucki wanted to discuss new technologies, though Baszucki appeared to have expected a wider-ranging conversation.

“I came here because I love your podcast and wanted to talk about everything,” Baszucki said. “If our PR team said, ‘Let’s spend an hour on age-gating,’ that’s fine but I thought we’d be talking about everything.”

When Newton observed that he seemed “a little frustrated,” Baszucki disagreed and returned to his original point. “I thought we’d be talking about fun, interesting things in the industry. I’m not frustrated, I’m just figuring out how much fun time we have versus how much time we spend on this super-focused topic. But I’m happy to talk about whatever you want.”

We cover more about the case in this article: https://gamersplayroom.com/are-roblox-and-discord-protected-from-civil-liability-under-section-230/