Following a spate of lawsuits and investigations over its child safety systems, Roblox is going to implement mandatory facial verification for all users who want to access communication features, starting in January. The platform is also introducing age-based chat, meaning users can only communicate with others in a similar age group.
Starting Tuesday, users can voluntarily verify their age to secure their access to communication features. In the first week of December, Roblox will begin enforcing the age-check requirement in select markets, including Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand. From January, all users around the world will be required to verify their age to access chat features.
The move comes amid multiple lawsuits, including from the attorneys general of Texas and Louisiana, against Roblox over child safety concerns. The lawsuits were filed following reports that Roblox was exposing young users to dangerous risks, such as grooming and explicit content.
For the age-check process, users would have to the Roblox app, allow access to their camera, and follow a series of on-screen instructions for facial verification. Once the age-check is processed, Roblox says it will delete any images or videos of users. The verification is being processed through a third-party vendor, Persona, which would also delete images and videos after completing the process, Roblox says.
Once the age-check is complete, users will be informed which age group they have been assigned to. There are six age groups: under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and 21 plus.
Users will be able to chat with others in their own age group and similar age groups as appropriate, Roblox explained during a briefing with reporters on Monday.
For example, if someone has an estimated age of 12, they will be assigned to the 9 to 12 age group. They will then be able to chat with users aged 15 and younger. All users aged 16 or older will be prevented from chatting with this user.
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“We see these changes as a way to help ensure users are able to socialize with others in age groups that are appropriate, but also help limit contact between minors and adults that they do not know,” said Raj Bhatia, Roblox’s VP and head of user and discovery product, during the briefing.
The company says the new age-check requirement will provide a more accurate way to verify users’ ages, compared with simply having users enter their birth year when creating an account.
“We believe that this is something that is first for a company like Roblox in the gaming space and social media and messaging to require explicit age estimation before anybody has access to communication,” said Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief safety officer, during the briefing.
Roblox also said it’s launching a new Safety Center that will provide parents and caregivers with guidance and tools, and let them set up Parental Controls.
