Law group warns parents about online gaming and sextortion
NEW YORK STATE (WRGB) — With it being summer vacation for kids, they may be spending more time online, gaming with friends. But not everyone is who they seem behind the screen. I spoke with the Dolman Law Group about an extremist group known by authorities to prey on minors through different platforms – and what parents can do.
764 is used as a catch-all by the FBI to describe networks of predators who seek out minors online through mobile messaging apps, social media and gaming platforms. Representing the children and their families affected is Dolman Law Group – its owner and managing partner describes 764 as nothing but abhorrent.
“They engage in dissemination of child sexual abuse materials. They extort children with those images. They convince them obviously send these images, over hold them over their head based on fear of further dissemination to their parents and loved ones and they extort them for money.”
Matthew Dolman has cases that focus on Roblox and Discord, two separate platforms with the former focusing on gaming and the latter on chatting. Roblox prohibits references to 764 and acts against associated content and users.
“They meet the child on Roblox because it’s such a big platform. They take the child off Roblox onto Discord. Why do they do that? Because Roblox doesn’t allow file sharing so you can’t disseminate images on Roblox.”
Attempting to lure younger users to other platforms violates Roblox’s rules. Roblox launched Kids and Select Accounts back in June, restricting or outright disabling chat functionality altogether based on age.
MORE: Youth safety advocates say House online safety bill falls short
A Roblox spokesperson sent the following statement:
“Roblox has zero tolerance for extremism on our platform, and we work in close coordination with law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable. Our platform is built with a robust multi-layered defense system to help protect users. On Roblox, images and videos cannot be sent or received in chat and we deploy rigorous filters that are designed to prevent the exchange of personal information and attempts to move conversations off platform. While no system can be perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continuously work to strengthen our safeguards.”
Parents can also play a part in what and who their children play with on Roblox. Dolman adds that parents should look out for signs of secretive or much different behavior and to reach out to law enforcement immediately if their child is being victimized – DO NOT do anything with the sexual abuse material.
