CIA Vet Warns Montana Parents About Roblox

Roblox. Are any of you parents out there familiar with that game? A CIA vet who runs an anti-trafficking organization based here in Montana says to watch out.

Nic McKinley is a CIA vet who grew up in Lockwood, Montana. He now puts his skills to work to help law enforcement officers take down human traffickers.

Nic joined us on our statewide radio talk show a few days before Christmas to give us an update on his organization, the DeliverFund, and share more of his story. (Full Audio Below) Joining me for the show that day was John Jackson, a retired federal law enforcement officer.

John asked a great question- what about these online games like Roblox? Nic told us how he was actually going to be featured on an upcoming podcast with Andy Stumpf talking about that very issue. (That episode is now out and can be found below)

Nic McKinley: "It's actually more of a social network. There's 10s of 1000s of games that are created by other developers, and it's specifically marketed to children. And if you go on the app store, it actually says that it's approved for children. But the people who actually created the game, like the CEO, as an example, has said that- and he said this publicly- he said that he doesn't see the predators on Roblox as just a problem, but he also sees them as an opportunity. He has publicly said that he is okay with nudity on this game. Publicly said that he's okay with introducing the concept of gambling to children as long as it can be done in a legal way. He has publicly said that he wants to see this dating, or this this game actually turn into a dating platform for minors.

McKinley added that the problem with Roblox is not simply just a few bad actors that are showing up.

Nic McKinley: "You actually have a video game where the C suite of the company is invested in helping adults develop relationships with minors, and that's a problem that you can't really solve. And so the only way to keep your children safe from the predators on a game like Roblox is to boycott Roblox. Just don't be on it."

Here's the full Montana Talks statewide radio show podcast with Nic McKinley that aired before Christmas:

Here's the full Cleared Hot Podcast episode with Nic McKinley: