View source for Account moderation

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:{{About|suspensions given to [[user]] accounts|being banned from an experience|in-experience ban|DevForum suspensions|Developer Forum|voice chat suspensions|voice chat}}
[[File:B1.png|thumb|The [[Catalog:Ban Hammer|Ban Hammer]] is often referenced in metaphors for being suspended or banned from Roblox, although it does not actually ban users.]]
Roblox issues '''account moderations''' to users that are found to be violating the [[Terms of Use]]. These are typically in the form of a [[moderation]] action that prevents the user's [[account]] from accessing [[Roblox]] services until resolved. These actions can take the form of a '''warning''' which can be resolved by the user immediately, a '''suspension''' (previously referred to as a '''ban''') in which the account is suspended for a period of time, or an '''account ban''' (previously referred to as a '''termination''' or '''account deletion''') in which the account is indefinitely (and often permanently) blocked from the site. 

When an account is suspended, all pages on the Roblox website redirect to the "not approved" page where a description of the offense and moderation is shown. Users are encouraged to appeal their moderation using the [[Roblox Support|Roblox support]] form, after which it may be lifted or modified if it is deemed incorrect.

== Functionality ==
Accounts are moderated on Roblox if a human moderator has deemed the user's actions or behavior to be in violation of Roblox's community guidelines. The process to determine a violation may have been initially reviewed or flagged by machine learning models trained to detect rule-breaking content.<ref>{{Cite Roblox Blog|year=2024|month=4|day=4|last=Kaufman|first=Matt|author=Matt Kaufman|entry=Scaling Safety and Civility on Roblox|url=https://blog.roblox.com/2024/04/scaling-safety-civility-roblox/|access-date=May 31, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404151348if_/https://blog.roblox.com/2024/04/scaling-safety-civility-roblox/|archive-date=April 4, 2024}}</ref> Roblox also moderates accounts based on international law. To comply with [[wikipedia:GDPR|EU privacy laws]], Roblox users can additionally request that their user data be deleted in its entirety, which involves deleting all their accounts.

Players who receive a moderation action while in-experience are kicked and receive an [[Error|Error Code 273]]. Attempting to reconnect will change the error to Error Code 769 or 773. 

Players are unable to view the profiles of banned accounts. However, a bug on January 15<sup>th</sup>, 2014 gave users access to view banned account profiles.<ref>https://archive.froast.io/forum/123228790#123228837</ref><ref>https://archive.froast.io/forum/123197690</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet|author-id=MerelyRBLX|tweet-id=423537106405703680|year=2014|month=1|day=15|access-date=October 23, 2022|author=Merely|title=Roblox made an update so you can view the profiles of banned users. Check this out:}}</ref> According to a [[forum]] reply by {{player link|Merely}},<ref>https://archive.froast.io/forum/123217892#123227148</ref> administrator {{player link|NobleDragon}} announced the bug was an update, but the announcement was probably deleted to prevent the spread of further misinformation about the change.

== Parts of the moderation message ==
:'' This section discusses the details of the moderation message as it '''currently''' functions. Historical moderation message information is not documented in this section.''

=== Durations ===
When an account is moderated, the duration determines when a user will be able to re-activate their account. Some forms of account moderation, such as warnings, can be immediately resolved by the user. In other cases, such as temporary suspensions, the account will remain unavailable for the specified duration before its owner can resolve the moderation.

The following list is all ''currently'' supported durations, as retrieved from the Desktop App:<ref name="luaapp">Strings retrieved from the Desktop App: https://github.com/Julli4n/Roblox-Translations-Tracker/blob/master/en_us/LuaApp.json</ref>
{{:Account moderation/Durations}}
:''Moderation messages do not use alternate displays of these times; these are the exact way that these durations are displayed.''

=== Reasons & moderator notes===
[[File:Content Blocked.png|thumb|right|100px|Content Blocked placeholder image]]
When provided, the reason for the moderation will appear in the content section of the moderation screen. Depending on the violation that caused the moderation, moderator notes may be included. 

Most moderator notes are built-in presets that are presumably selected by the moderator, but on ''rare'' occasion a custom note will be written. Moderator notes appear most often in English, but are sometimes in other languages such as Spanish, even if the player's account is not set to Spanish.

Before the August 2020 update to the not approved page, whenever an image or in-experience message was marked as Adult Content, it would be replaced with a placeholder image with a warning triangle saying "CONTENT BLOCKED" written under it.

Reasons and notes are not specifically tied to any moderation durations.<ref name="luaapp"/>

== Appeals and membership ==
[[File:NewMembershipNotice.jpg|thumb|The new membership notice for banned users used since August 2020.]]
Moderation appeals were first implemented in 2012. The original appeal target was appeals@roblox.com, and in 2020 the target was changed to the [https://www.roblox.com/support Support form]. In December 2023 however, was changed to Reporting & Appeals, and the final, January 2024, was changed to [https://www.roblox.com/report-appeals?nl=true# Violations & Appeals]. If a user wishes to send an appeal, sending a message to support-en@roblox.com will get an automated message saying that the support form must be used.

Users are encouraged to appeal a moderation action they believe is invalid through the [https://www.roblox.com/support Roblox Support form]. If the moderation action is deemed incorrect, it can be lifted or modified. Appeal responses may take a while, from twelve hours when there is no traffic up to seven days with an excess of traffic. Any individual moderation can be appealed, even warnings, such as to appeal a warning as invalid to have it removed from the user's moderation history.

Sometimes Roblox accepts appeals from banned players after the allowed time to make an appeal. For example, in April 2024, {{player link|Banana_snake23|2574264198}}’s appeal was accepted. The user was banned for 42 days.{{cite}}

Banned players with an active [[Roblox Premium]] subscription receive an additional notification. This notification identifies when the player's Roblox membership will expire or renew and how to cancel their membership subscription if desired.

==Moderation bugs and oversights==
===Audio refund incident===
[[File:AudioRefundGlitch.png|thumb|An account ban from the audio refund incident.]]
On July 4<sup>th</sup>, 2018, thousands of Roblox accounts were deleted due to a glitch with the audio refund system, which caused players to get double-refunds. This led to an automated moderator software flagging these players as suspicious and banning their account, with the moderator note of ''Your account has been deleted for violating the Terms of Use for exploiting the audio refunds system.''

===Botting incident===
On October 17<sup>th</sup>, 2018, thousands of Roblox accounts received an account deletion with the moderator note "''Roblox ToS Violation''". This ban wave primarily targeted bot users due to [[scam]]s that were being perpetrated by them, although some innocent users which included known developers and traders were affected as well<ref>https://twitter.com/Neutron_Jimmy7/status/1052683554981863424</ref>. All bans from the incident were given out at 4:51:49 PM.

===2022 chat vulnerability incident===
{{Main|2022 chat vulnerability incident}}
An oversight from as early as 2016 allowed experiences to send messages in the [[chat]] posing as another user. Between July 18<sup>th</sup> and 19<sup>th</sup>, 2022, many accounts were either suspended for either three days or banned (for the majority of players) due to malicious experiences spreading around that utilized this oversight to send very graphic content in chat posing as those that joined the experience, and then mass report that user to cause moderation to delete the account. Roblox reported after the incident that they had released a short-term fix for the issue and would be investigating a long-term fix.
===2024 in-[[Experience]] creation of [[Package]]s incident===
On January 8<sup>th</sup>, 2024, some [[Experience]]s were found to be baiting users into submitting [[Package]]s that would get them banned. The feature was then disabled.<ref>{{Cite DevForum|year=2024|month=1|day=8|last=Rodriguez|first=Carlos|author=KnightGaladeld|author-link=Community:KnightGaladeld|entry=In-Experience Creation of Packages <nowiki>[</nowiki>Disabled<nowiki>]</nowiki>|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/in-experience-creation-of-packages-disabled/2504219/141|access-date=January 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109144210/https://devforum.roblox.com/t/in-experience-creation-of-packages-disabled/2504219/141|archive-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref>

=== 2025 The Hunt: Mega Edition false suspensions ===
During [[The Hunt: Mega Edition]], semi-automated suspensions were implemented for suspected [[exploit|cheating]] in the primary event experience; however, a bug appeared to incorrectly moderate a notable amount of users in the "Beam Zone". Roblox reversed these suspensions shortly and rewarded a number of users (not all of which were affected) with the [[Catalog:2025 Ban Wave Surf Champion|2025 Ban Wave Surf Champion]] classic T-shirt.

===Parent deletion requests===
On multiple occasions, the Roblox support form and e-mail has been susceptible to [[Wikipedia:Social engineering (security)|social engineering]] via someone impersonating the parent of an account and requesting their account to be banned. In January 2021, this exploit became more known after notable Roblox YouTubers {{player link|TheQueenLisaGaming}} and {{player link|Parlophones}} were targeted by this oversight.

===Notable claims of false moderation ===
On numerous occasions, many players have claimed to have been suspended or banned falsely, or for incorrect reasons. While this does occur on some occasions, the majority of these claims cannot be verified. 

:''Disclaimer: The following incidents are discussed due to notability, even though their validity cannot be verified.''

In February 2020, {{player link|ambusher11}} posted about their Roblox account's permanent ban on the [[r/roblox|Roblox subreddit]]; in the post (which was later removed by subreddit moderators due to a rule violation), ambusher11 claimed to have been targeted by a user who requested a support ticket, typed it out with caps lock and curse words, requesting their account to be banned. The ticket was approved and as a result, ambusher11's account was deleted for being compromised. All of the appeals were denied, stating that he is not the owner of that account.<ref>https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ER8b4YAXYAEkAKt?format=jpg&name=orig</ref><ref>https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ER8b49rX0AA6Ug-?format=png&name=orig</ref> In the replies of ambusher11's Reddit post, many users were disappointed that Roblox had gullibly accepted the request. The account's ban has not been lifted as of the present day.<!-- need to find a better way to word this: --> There is no reliable verification for these claims being true. Shortly after, ambusher11 came back with a new account known as “PunishedAmbusher”.

On January 20, 2021, a Roblox YouTuber named {{player link|ImFaire}} announced on Twitter that his account was compromised and soon permanently banned.<ref>{{Cite tweet|author-id=FaireGaming|tweet-id=1351933888315191296|year=2021|month=1|day=20|title=Gg I wake up to my Roblox account being terminated...}}<!--https://archive.is/skbWC--></ref> A week later, he posted on Twitter that support was unable to assist him due to not contacting them on the email currently attached to the account, which had been changed by an account hijacker.<ref>{{Cite tweet|author-id=FaireGaming|tweet-id=1354235201015214080|year=2021|month=1|day=27|access-date=October 23, 2022|author=Faire|title=This is legit the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Because I’m unable to email them on the verified email (the hackers email) @Roblox is unable to recover my account and get my 3,000,000 value worth of limiteds back. Someone please help... #roblox}}<!--https://archive.is/4tsui--></ref> Roblox Support lifted ImFaire's account ban and gave him access to his account a few days later.<ref>{{Cite tweet|author-id=FaireGaming|tweet-id=1355997778976141313|year=2021|month=1|day=31|access-date=April 10, 2025|author=Faire|title=Alright, I have my account back. Now I just need my limiteds and robux 😁}}<!--https://archive.is/5gVmP --></ref>

==Functionality concerns==
If an account is suspended or banned and has an active subscription to a [[private server]], the subscription will continue after each renewal date as long as they still have sufficient [[Robux]] in the account to rent another month of the server, meaning that the suspended account will lose [[Robux]]. Roblox has not given any statement as to when or if this will be patched.

==History==
According to Shedletsky ({{player link|Telamon}} at the time), the first problematic user that Roblox staff encountered on the platform was found on October 17<sup>th</sup>, 2006.<ref>https://www.gamedev.net/forums/topic/419919-best-way-to-ban-users/</ref> It is unknown who this user was. Previously, Roblox only moderated accounts based on United States federal law. Roblox was then banned in the United Arab Emirates, presumably because they failed to comply with local laws. Roblox now moderates accounts based on international law.

Users used to be able to view a [[Moderation history|history of past moderation]] on their account in their account settings. This feature was later removed in 2016.

Sometime in 2025<!--TODO: find a slightly more specific timeframe-->, an update to the message interface renamed certain types of moderation; bans were now called suspensions, and terminations were now called bans.

===Message interface ===
====Message content====
Before 2009, the website used to display "Reported" instead of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Reviewed<nowiki>''</nowiki> and the reason displays in a box instead of "Reason: [''Reason'']". The moderator note does not include "Moderator Note:" in some suspended in 2008. Earlier in 2008, It used to display "Source: Chat".

In 2013, Roblox's suspension duration was all in capital letters.

====Message design====
In September 2020, the moderation notice was redesigned to support dark mode. The Robux balance now displays as "?" for a suspended or banned user. Additionally, the message no longer displays "We will terminate your account if you do not abide by the rules."

===Moderation in the European Union===
In February 2024, Roblox implemented significant changes under the [[wikipedia:Digital Services Act|European Union’s Digital Services Act]] (DSA). These rules are designed to keep users safe from inappropriate content on the platform.<ref>{{Cite DevForum|year=2024|month=2|day=13|author=Roblox|entry=Changes We’re Making as The Digital Services Act (DSA) Takes Effect|url=https://devforum.roblox.com/t/changes-we%E2%80%99re-making-as-the-digital-services-act-dsa-takes-effect/2837088|access-date=March 1, 2024}}</ref>

Suspensions are more in-depth in content moderation policies. EU-based developers and users receive notifications about moderation decisions, DSA rights, and the use of automated processes. The EU Commission also receives this information for transparency purposes.

Users can appeal Roblox moderation decisions for up to a six-month period.<ref>{{Cite tweet|author-id=Roblox_RTC|tweet-id=1758742896742641768|title=EU users will have up to 6 months to appeal moderation decisions. Additionally, they have the right to escalate Roblox moderation decisions to certified out-of-court dispute settlement systems.|year=2024|month=2|day=17|author=RTC|access-date=April, 24, 2024}}</ref> They have the option to appeal Roblox moderation decisions to certified out-of-court dispute settlement systems.
===Termination Under User's Request Feature===
[[File:Roblox Permanent Ban Message (Only if the users decided terminate their own account).png|thumb|176x176px|A permanent ban note on closed account.]]
In late 2022, Roblox allowed users to have the right to permanently ban their account anytime by filing request forms in the Roblox support. Within a few days, users will receive an acknowledgment message that once the ban started, their account will be deleted and it cannot be reopened or recovered. At that time, users can still decide to cancel if they likely going to regret the decision in the future. If the users acknowledge the risk, Roblox will ban their account and request users to verify their real identity with Veriff to process Data Privacy requests. Users can login into their closed account after its ban but will redirect into a Permanent Ban message with a moderation note: '''This account has been closed.'''

===Former moderation types===
*'''Forum purge''': This would be given to some accounts in certain circumstances, where all of that account's forum posts would be replaced by [ Content Deleted ].
*'''Reminder''': Similar to a warning, the user's account is disabled and can be reopened immediately by agreeing to the Terms of Service. Unlike a warning, this was given to new users or very mild violations. It appears to have been dropped due to its redundancy and all reminder offenses were merged with the warning offenses.
<gallery>
Forumpurge.png|Result of a forum purge
Website moderation 2016.png|A Reminder
</gallery>

==Gallery==
<!-- This gallery transcludes from an admin-locked subpage to prevent unnecessary additions. All mod message images used for this gallery have all reasons and mod messages censored, as this is primarily to archive the visual design of the interface, and NOT to confirm certain 'ban reasons' or similar. If you have a suggested addition, please bring it up on the talk page. -Roblox Wiki staff -->
{{:Account moderation/Gallery}}

==References==
<references />

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