How to Keep Child Predators Out of Virtual Playgrounds Like ‘Fortnite’ and ‘Minecraft’

There’s no perfect fix, but experts on moderation, sexual exploitation, and internet law tell OneZero there is hope

Illustrations: Ana Kova

Online games that are wildly popular with kids, like Fortnite, Minecraft, Clash of Clans and Roblox, have become hunting grounds for pedophiles. Recent reporting suggests that by at least the thousands — and perhaps far more than that — kids are being groomed, cajoled, tricked, intimidated, or blackmailed into sending sexual images of themselves or others to predators who trawl gaming platforms and chat apps such as Discord for victims.

While there is often an element of moral panic at play when a new trend or technology poorly understood by adults is identified as a threat to children, an investigation by the New York Times made clear that the problem is real, widespread, and growing. If you’re still skeptical, a firsthand account of what it’s like to hunt predators from an employee at Bark, a startup that develops parental controls for online apps, illustrates just how pervasive the problem is on social media and messaging platforms. It’s impossible for a parent to read these stories without coming away alarmed about kids’ safety and well-being in the world of online gaming.