Jakarta. Primary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti called on students to stop playing the popular online game Roblox, citing concerns over its violent and potentially harmful content.

“There’s a lot of violence in that game,” Mu’ti said on Monday,  after inspecting a free health check-up program at SDN Cideng 02 Pagi Elementary School in Central Jakarta.

He warned that the digital game could potentially incite violent behavior among children in real life. According to Mu’ti, young students are often unable to distinguish between what is real and what is simulated.

“Their level of intellectual maturity is still limited. Sometimes they imitate what they see,” he said.

Deputy Chair of House Commission X Lalu Hadrian Irfani said Mu’ti’s warning was aimed at keeping students focused on their education. “The minister’s intention is good. He wants our students to stay focused on their studies, and we fully support the ministry’s move,” Lalu told reporters on Tuesday.

“We agree that excessive gaming is unhealthy for our students, especially when the games feature violent content,” he added.

Roblox is an online platform that allows users, many of them children, to create and play user-generated games. While the platform encourages creativity and programming skills, it has also drawn scrutiny for hosting games containing violence and inappropriate interactions. In 2024, Roblox reported over 85 million daily active users globally, with around 40 percent estimated to be under the age of 13.

Roblox’s open-ended nature allows users to create nearly any type of virtual experience, including those not appropriate for children.

 A 2025 investigative report by UK outlet The Guardian and media group Revealing Reality found that children as young as five were exposed to inappropriate content, including verbal sexual interactions, through the platform’s voice chat feature. Researchers also highlighted weak age verification systems that allowed minors to interact freely with adults.

The risks are not limited to virtual exposure. In July, police in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, arrested a 20-year-old man for blackmailing a 15-year-old girl from Sweden, whom he had met via Roblox. Authorities said the two developed a relationship that later continued on social media, eventually leading the victim to share explicit photos and videos. The suspect allegedly threatened to leak the content unless she paid him $500.

Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief safety officer, told The Guardian that the company prioritizes trust and safety in all aspects of its operations. Roblox continuously updates its policies, technology, and moderation systems to safeguard its users, particularly children. In 2024 alone, Roblox implemented over 40 new safety features and remains committed to further improving the platform’s safety and civility for all users.