American parents are no longer grappling with a hypothetical issue. They are confronting a disturbing reality that is well-documented and increasingly hard to ignore. Major digital platforms that children frequently engage with are exposing them to sexual content, predators, extreme violence, and material that no responsible parent would ever knowingly permit.

Roblox, one of the world’s most popular platforms for children, sits at the center of this alarming concern. Investigations, including comprehensive reporting by The Wall Street Journal, reveal the platform’s ongoing struggles to prevent child sexual exploitation, grooming, explicit sexual roleplay, and hyper-violent simulations from infiltrating the experiences of its young users.

Despite numerous assurances and evolving moderation tools, these systemic failures continue to occur on a significant scale.

This is not just a glitch or an isolated incident. Roblox is much more than a simple game; it is an expansive digital universe largely constructed by anonymous users, many of whom are adults.

Children are encouraged to explore freely, interact with strangers, and engage with user-generated content in environments that parents simply cannot monitor in real time.

Roblox operates within a broader ecosystem dominated by Google and TikTok, two companies that largely dictate what content is discovered, promoted, and normalized online.

Together, these platforms act as cultural gatekeepers, subtly guiding children’s attention while providing parents with limited transparency and inadequate control.

Crucially, even before a child reaches driving age, algorithms are shaping their encounters with ideas, influencing what they engage with, and reinforcing specific values through repetition.

Brent Dusing, a technology executive and concerned father, has articulated this unsettling imbalance in stark terms.

“Visualize this,” Dusing contends. “The school bell rings at 3 PM. Children exit the building and come to a three-way fork in the road.

One path leads to a fun Christian youth program. The second leads to a satanic temple. The third path leads to a pornography store where children are preyed upon by adults.

Two men stand at the intersection, preventing kids from taking the first path while beckoning them toward the latter two. Google and TikTok are those two men.”

This imagery may be striking, but it captures a vital truth. Google and TikTok do not merely reflect cultural trends; they actively shape which ideas and values children are exposed to.

Through algorithms and content moderation decisions, they determine what makes the cut and what gets pushed aside.

Platforms like Roblox are downstream from these choices, inheriting a digital landscape already warped by engagement-first motives.

In these environments, children encounter anonymous interactions, blurred boundaries, and content that evolves more rapidly than safety measures can adapt.

Parents are often asked to trust that these profit-driven companies will safeguard their children’s moral and emotional development—despite mounting evidence that they frequently fail to do so

The core issue is not gaming itself. Games can foster creativity, collaboration, and imagination.

The real problem lies in the assumption that entertainment intended for children is morally neutral, or that corporations primarily focused on growth metrics can serve as trustworthy guardians of moral development.

In light of this palpable danger, some are beginning to question whether children’s digital experiences must be constructed in this way at all.

One promising response is the emergence of TruPlay, a faith-based gaming and entertainment platform founded on intentional curation, clear boundaries, and explicit values.

TruPlay deliberately avoids open-ended social interactions and anonymous content creation.

Its design prioritizes age-appropriate storytelling, limited communication, and a framework of parental trust. Its existence is significant—not because it offers a singular solution, but because it illustrates that an alternative model is not only possible but necessary.

For conservatives, this debate aligns with a long-standing commitment to stewardship.

Protecting children’s innocence is not about retreating from technology in fear; it is about refusing to outsource their moral formation to companies that have repeatedly demonstrated a lack of prioritization for children over engagement metrics.

The digital worlds where children reside today will inevitably shape the adults they become tomorrow.

Parents deserve more than empty assurances after harm has occurred; they deserve better choices and a system that prioritizes and respects their children’s well-being from the very beginning.

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Michael Busler is a public policy analyst and a professor of finance at Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in finance and economics. He has written op-ed columns in major newspapers for more than 35 years.