Parents rejoiced this week when Roblox, the popular online game marketed to children, announced it was introducing some big changes to its controversial chat feature.
The platform has confirmed that it plans to implement major updates to its safety systems and parental controls as early as 2025, including preventing users under the age of 13 from messaging others online. Ta.
Red flags parents should know about
While many are relieved by new rules that complement the Australian government's ban on social media for children under 16, many online safety experts are warning parents not to get too caught up in a false sense of hope. are.
According to a former detective and child safety expert: Christy McViechanges to Roblox's chat options seem positive on the surface, but parents will have to dig a little deeper to make sure their kids are completely safe while using the app.
“While Roblox has made changes that seem positive to protect children under 13, the changes are a false 'safety' measure for parents and fall short of what Roblox can do to protect children. No,” Christie told Kids Spot.
“What I liked most about Roblox announcing surface-level protections is that it puts the responsibility back on parents to make sure their kids can play the game safely. These changes will be introduced in October. This was done purely as a “reputation-saving operation'' after the Hindenburg Report described it as a “pedophile hellscape.''
Parents' responsibility?
Christie said shifting the responsibility back to parents is a big red flag about the new rules.
“Rather than blocking and removing the millions of predatory adults who prey on children in their games and the millions of inappropriate games and content that children have access to, Roblox will “We have chosen to make it our responsibility as parents to keep our children safe,” she argues.
“Even though they know there are problems with game users and content, they took the easy option of holding parents responsible for games specifically aimed at children.
“For children under 13, you must set up a parent account and link it to your child's account to set up new safeguards. However, if you are over 13, you cannot manage your child's account. ” account. ”
What happens to children whose accounts are not linked?
Similar to many people's concerns about social media banning children under 16 from seeing them lie about their age, Christie also said this “trend” would seep into online games like Roblox. He admitted that he was concerned about this.
“As a detective and cyber safety educator, I have seen numerous children use fake dates of birth to set up accounts and gain access to various social media platforms. How can I prevent my child from creating such an account? There is no age verification, so anyone over the age of 13 can create an account to play and talk with strangers. ,” she points out.
“Kids are very resourceful and will always find a way if they want to. As parents, we're excited about technology companies, especially those designed to help kids take some responsibility and do more.” We need a platform.
“They have the means to identify and remove these predatory accounts, but they turn a blind eye and tell parents that it’s their fault when their children are abused on our platform. It’s what you choose to say,” she added.
How to play safely on Roblox
But now is not the time to panic. If your kids are playing Roblox, there are ways to keep them safe.
“If you decide to let your kids use Roblox, make sure their dates of birth are correct and use all available settings,” Christie suggests.
“Monitor your children regularly, play with them, stay in their rooms together, and check on their usage weekly.
“Know the platforms and how they work, identify the games your kids are playing, and be wary of third-party messaging apps like Discord. Kids may not be able to talk to each other in-game, but they can You can still communicate through messaging apps,” she added.
About Roblox's new chat rules for under 13s
Earlier this week, Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman announced that Roblox would be making some important changes to the platform to make it safer for some younger users.
Kaufman said connecting with others is at the core of the Roblox experience, but also acknowledged that safety is paramount.
As a result, users under 13 will not be able to message others on Roblox outside of games and experiences. We're also introducing a built-in setting that limits users under 13 to public broadcast messages only within a game or experience.
By default, users under 13 cannot directly message other users, but parents can change this setting in parental controls.
