Nonprofit Organization Blames Roblox for Deceptive Advertising

There have been plenty of issues with Roblox since its introduction, and now the concerns have to do with the deceptive marketing practices used on the platform. According to the research conducted by the nonprofit organization Truth in Advertising, the platform violates marketing practices and engages in deceptive marketing.

The complaint comes in the form of a report that also mentions a number of other companies, such as Mattel, Netflix, Hasbro, and Nike. It’s not a secret that Roblox has turned from a platform for children where they create games to being a website where some sneaky companies try to advertise their products without disclosing this fact to users. Based on the information provided by Trust in Advertising, advertisements on the platform come in many different forms, but they are made in such a way that users don’t suspect anything.

For instance, the platform hosts the so-called ‘advergames’ that have the purpose of promoting some products or brands in a discreet way. As Roblox is used primarily by children, it becomes particularly easy to affect unsuspecting users who won’t even know that they have just played a game with a hidden ad in it.

In response to the report, Roblox has provided their statement where they mentioned that they have ‘strict guidelines for developers that want to promote or use ads within their experiences.’ However, it seems that the company will still have to be a lot more obvious when it comes to marking ads on the platform. This is especially relevant when the main users of the platform are children. Otherwise, they will be violating the law.

Do you agree that ads should always be revealed to users? Or do users have to be attentive on their own?

Please, share your opinion in the comment section below!