Discord vs Roblox vs Parents: Accountability & Liability
How Roblox’s “vigilante” clash mirrors Discord’s legal squeeze—and what changed after
What happened on Roblox (the Schlep flashpoint)
- After Schlep’s “predator-hunting” stings drew massive attention, Roblox banned vigilante activity and explained why: it creates new risks, can compromise investigations, and violates platform rules. (verified) (Roblox)
- The backlash became news in its own right (on-platform protests, state-level scrutiny), keeping Roblox’s child-safety posture in the headlines. (verified) (Jerusalem Post)
- Separately—but relevant to parent tools—Roblox rolled out a major Nov 18, 2024 parental-controls update: remote account linking, screen-time, friend-list visibility, comms restrictions for <13, and content labels. (verified) (Reuters)
Meanwhile on Discord: legal heat and policy pressure
- New Jersey v. Discord (Apr 17, 2025): the NJ Attorney General alleges Discord misled families about safety features, failed to enforce minimum-age rules, and used confusing defaults—claims brought under the state Consumer Fraud Act. (verified)
- U.S. Senate hearing (Jan 31, 2024): Discord’s CEO testified in the Judiciary Committee’s “Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” hearing, outlining detection, NCMEC reporting, and policy enforcement. (verified) (Senate Judiciary Committee)
- Law-enforcement pressure (2025): DOJ arrests and international actions against the “764” network kept Discord in the public-safety conversation (platforms cited as tools abused by offenders, fueling calls for stronger defaults). (verified) (Department of Justice)
Did this pressure move Discord? Yes—here’s the feature timeline
- Family Center (opt-in linking) — 2023: Parents can link to a teen via QR to see who they’ve friended, messaged/called, and which servers they used in the last 7 days; weekly email summaries; no message content shown. (verified) (Discord Support)
- Policy explainer refresh — Mar 2024: Discord published a consolidated teen/child-safety explainer (part of “safety by design” posture). (verified) (Discord)
- Message Requests & Spam filtering — Jul 2025: Unknown DMs are routed to a requests/spam inbox so teens must approve before chatting. (verified) (Discord Support)
- Teen Safety Alerts — Sept 2025: Default-on alerts that flag risky first-time DMs and nudge quick block/report actions. (verified) (Discord Support)
- UK Online Safety Act compliance — Jul/Aug 2025: UK users face one-time, privacy-forward age verification (via k-ID) before changing certain defaults or accessing age-restricted content; stricter teen-safe defaults apply by region. (verified) (Discord)
The through-line
Across both platforms you can see the pattern: public incidents + legal scrutiny → tightened controls and clearer parent tools. Roblox’s 2024 controls and Discord’s 2023–2025 rollout (Family Center, Message Requests, Teen Safety Alerts, UK AV) reflect that cycle. (verified) (Reuters)
Why this matters for parents (actionable takeaway)
- On Roblox: link your account, review content labels, set messaging limits for <13, and monitor screen time. (verified) (Reuters)
- On Discord: link via Family Center, keep Message Requests on, and teach your teen to use the Safety Alert prompts to block/report fast. (verified) (Discord Support)
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Discord vs. Roblox — Quick Comparison
| Topic | Discord | Roblox |
|---|---|---|
| What it is / typical use | Real-time voice, video, and text for communities (gaming, study groups, clubs, creators; sometimes work/campus groups). | Game platform & creation ecosystem; social play inside user-created “experiences.” |
| Official minimum age (U.S.) | 13+ (higher if local law requires). | Under-13 accounts are allowed with stricter defaults and parent/guardian consent. |
| Under-13 default | Not allowed. Accounts reported <13 are locked pending age review; regional age-verification (e.g., UK) applies in some cases. | Allowed with built-in youth protections (privacy/chat limits, content labels) and parent linking. |
| Parental / guardian tools | Family Center (opt-in by teen): shows activity overview (servers joined, friends added, DM/call counts) + weekly summary email. No message content. | Parental Controls: link parent account, manage chat permissions, content access/labels, screen time, and spending limits. |
| Recent child-safety changes | Family Center (2023); Message Requests that hold unknown DMs (2025); Teen Safety Alerts (2025); UK one-time age verification for certain actions (2025). | 2024–2025 tightening: U13 can’t DM outside games by default; in-game DMs require parent permission; unlabeled experiences blocked; finer content labels; remote parent linking. |
| Who actually uses it (selected data) | Adult-leaning overall; largest audience band commonly measured as 18–24, with significant 25–34 usage; teens use it but aren’t the majority. | Mixed ages; company reports the majority of DAUs are 13+, but a large under-13 cohort remains on-platform. |
| Implication for liability | General-audience service: COPPA risk mainly when there’s actual knowledge of under-13 users; can face consumer-protection actions if safety claims/controls are inadequate. | Mixed/child-directed: routine COPPA obligations for U13 plus heightened scrutiny of safety systems and parental-control efficacy. |
Sources for the above chart:
- Discord: minimum age & parent/educator FAQ; Family Center; enforcement for <13; pilot age-verification; adult-leaning traffic. Similarweb+3Discord+3ESRB Ratings+3
- Roblox: privacy policy & terms (minors allowed with parent consent); 2024–2025 parental-control updates; U13 chat restrictions; content labels; parent linking. Roblox Support+4Roblox Support+4Roblox Support+4
- Usage mix: U.K. children’s report shows very low Discord use among 5–7s; U.S. teen usage exists (Pew-based summaries). Roblox says 60%+ DAUs are 13+ (Q3/Q4 2024 investor commentary; Q2 2025 update shows strong 13+ growth). Treat third-party aggregators cautiously; they generally agree Discord skews 18–34. DemandSage+5www.ofcom.org.uk+5EMARKETER+5
- Legal climate: NJ AG lawsuit against Discord (2025). COPPA framework and “actual knowledge” standard (FTC). The Verge+1
Note on stats: Discord doesn’t publish an official kid-vs-adult breakdown. The best public signals combine: (a) platform policy (13+), (b) national surveys (Pew/Ofcom on teen adoption), and (c) independent web-traffic demographics (Similarweb/Statista), which consistently show a majority adult (18–34) audience. Use these with proper caveats. Notta+3Discord+3www.ofcom.org.uk+3
Other Sources (each is a verified primary or top-tier report)
- Roblox explainer on removing vigilantes. (verified) (Roblox)
- Coverage of the ban and safety rationale. (verified) (PC Gamer)
- Roblox’s Nov 18, 2024 parental-controls update (remote linking, messaging limits, content labels). (verified) (Reuters)
- New Jersey AG v. Discord complaint (Apr 17, 2025). (verified)
- U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing; Discord CEO written testimony (Jan 31, 2024). (verified) (Senate Judiciary Committee)
- Discord Family Center docs (parents/teens). (verified) (Discord Support)
- Discord Message Requests (screening unknown DMs). (verified) (Discord Support)
- Discord Teen Safety Alerts (default-on). (verified) (Discord Support)
- UK Online Safety Act: Discord’s product changes & support note. (verified) (Discord)
- DOJ & Reuters on the “764” network crackdown (context for rising safety pressure). (verified) (Department of Justice)