Following a spate of lawsuits and investigations over its child safety systems, Roblox goes to implement mandatory facial verification for all users who wish to access communication features, starting in January. The platform can be introducing age-based chat, meaning users can only communicate with others in an analogous age group.
Starting Tuesday, users can voluntarily confirm their age to secure their access to communication features. In the primary week of December, Roblox will begin enforcing the age-check requirement in select markets, including Australia, the Netherlands and Recent Zealand. From January, all users around the globe can be required to confirm 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, similar to grooming and explicit content.
For the age-check process, users would need 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 can delete any images or videos of users. The verification is being processed through a third-party vendor, Persona, which might also delete images and videos after completing the method, Roblox says.
Once the age-check is complete, users can be informed which age group they’ve been assigned to. There are six age groups: under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to fifteen, 16 to 17, 18 to twenty, and 21 plus.
Users will have the opportunity to talk with others in their very own age group and similar age groups as appropriate, Roblox explained during a briefing with reporters on Monday.
For instance, if someone has an estimated age of 12, they can be assigned to the 9 to 12 age group. They may then have the opportunity to talk with users aged 15 and younger. All users aged 16 or older can be prevented from chatting with this user.
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“We see these changes as a approach to help ensure users are in a position to socialize with others in age groups which are appropriate, but in addition help limit contact between minors and adults that they have no idea,” said Raj Bhatia, Roblox’s VP and head of user and discovery product, throughout the briefing.
The corporate says the brand new age-check requirement will provide a more accurate approach to confirm users’ ages, compared with simply having users enter their birth yr when creating an account.
“We imagine that that is something that’s first for a corporation like Roblox within 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, throughout the briefing.
Roblox also said it’s launching a brand new Safety Center that may provide parents and caregivers with guidance and tools, and allow them to arrange Parental Controls.