Two teens have been detained in Singapore for terrorism related activities, with one of them using Roblox to act out their ISIS fantasies.
The unfortunate reality of child-friendly online spaces like Roblox is that they’re not always as safe as they seem. Despite being marketed to children and being incredibly popular with that demographic, Roblox is also home to some seedy stuff.
Just a couple of months ago, actress Claire Sweeney expressed concerns about scammers, when a player asked her son to give them her credit card details.
Now, it’s been reported that there are multiple Roblox servers themed around the Islamic State, aka ISIS, with one 16-year-old arrested after it was discovered he was role-playing as a member of the group on said servers.
The anonymous teen was detained in Singapore under the country’s Internal Security Act. It’s said he used the Roblox platform to swear his allegiance to an ‘ISIS leader’ and would act out fantasies of shooting people and serving as an ISIS ‘spokesperson’ in-game.
Apparently, Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) already had an eye on him when he first joined the servers at the age of 14. An investigation uncovered his interest in far right extremist content, and he was told by the ISD to avoid such content in the future, a warning he obviously ignored.
Although there’s no mention of him committing any real world violence, CNA reports that he had created and uploaded three propaganda videos onto social media between late 2021 and early 2022.
A second teen, aged 15, has also been detained for similar reasons, but their radicalisation came from listening to podcasts by a segregationist preacher, not via Roblox.
Aside from expressing support for Islamic State, he attempted to share ISIS videos containing beheadings with classmates and spoke with foreign online contacts about undertaking armed violence.
Both detainees will undergo counselling and rehabilitation, and still be allowed to continue their education.
At the time of writing, publisher Roblox Corporation has not issued a statement on the matter.
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