Roblox has cut ties with a YouTuber who spent the past two years running online stings that led to several arrests. The move has put a spotlight on the company’s safety policies and how it handles independent efforts to track down offenders.
Michael, who goes by Schlep online, is 22 and runs a YouTube channel with more than 600,000 subscribers. His videos show staged conversations with suspects who thought they were speaking to minors. In many cases, the chats ended with a meeting in a public place and a call to police. He says six men in the United States have been arrested in the past year as a result of these operations, which were carried out with groups like EDPWatch and Predator Poachers.
The idea came from his own experience as a child on Roblox. He says a well-known developer sent him explicit images and violent material, pressuring him into harmful situations. That period, he says, led to a suicide attempt. His mother contacted Roblox at the time, but according to Schlep, no action was taken until years later when the developer was finally banned.
Last week, he received a cease-and-desist letter from Roblox. It accused him of breaking platform rules, including staging simulated child endangerment chats and moving conversations to outside channels. Roblox said this sidesteps its safety systems and can increase risks to users. Company policy also prohibits what it calls vigilante activity, meaning attempts to entrap or police other players without going through official moderation processes.
A blog post from Roblox’s safety team, published the same day, said accounts that break these rules can be permanently removed. The company noted that it takes online predatory behaviour seriously, but said cases should be handled through its own reporting tools and in partnership with law enforcement.
Schlep rejects the idea that his actions put people at risk. He says he has repeatedly filed reports through Roblox’s system without results. He also says every sting ends up in the hands of police and that he follows the law when conducting them.
The platform’s safety record has been questioned before. Roblox hosts over 120 million active players each month, many under 13, and past reports have documented grooming cases tied to the game. In certain unmoderated spaces known as “condos,” inappropriate roleplay and predatory messages can appear within minutes of entry.
Reaction to the ban is split. Some see him filling a gap in Roblox’s safety work, while others point out that vigilante-style stings can interfere with investigations. Predator-hunting groups have faced similar criticism in the past, with some operations ending in legal trouble.
The ban means Schlep can no longer use any Roblox accounts, including ones he created as a child. His YouTube channel and merchandise store remain active, but his work inside the game has stopped. The situation reflects an ongoing friction between strict platform rules and outside attempts to deal with safety threats.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools. Image: Oberon Copeland @veryinformed
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