Roblox Enhances Age Verification Measures
Roblox is ramping up its age verification processes for users who wish to send private messages to others on the platform. The updates include age-specific chat features, allowing kids, teens, and adults to interact primarily with peers in similar age brackets.
This initiative follows ongoing scrutiny and legal challenges faced by the popular gaming service regarding child safety, amid a wave of state and national regulations seeking more robust age verification standards.
The company had previously introduced an age estimation tool from a firm named Persona back in July. This requires users to take a video selfie, which is used to gauge their age. According to Roblox, the videos are discarded once the age assessment is completed. Players aren’t obliged to submit a facial scan unless they wish to engage in chat with others.
Roblox prohibits users under 13 from chatting with others outside of game settings unless they have explicit permission from a parent. Notably, unlike some other platforms, Roblox does not employ encryption for private chat conversations, allowing it to maintain oversight.
While experts have raised concerns regarding the accuracy of facial age estimation technology, Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer, Matt Kaufman, indicates that the system can typically estimate ages accurately within one to two years for individuals aged five to 25.
“There are always exceptions to the rule. If someone feels that their age estimate is off, they can provide identification or obtain parental consent to rectify that,” he noted.
Once users complete the age verification, they will be grouped according to their ages, such as under nine, nine to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and over 21. This means users will interact solely with those in their designated age groups or those close in age, based on their profile.
Roblox plans to implement these age checks in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands during the first week of December, with a broader rollout scheduled for early January worldwide.
A variety of tech companies are adopting similar verification systems to meet regulatory requirements and counter criticisms about their child protection measures. Google, for instance, is exploring a new AI-driven age-verification method for YouTube that aims to distinguish adults from minors based on watch patterns. Meanwhile, Instagram is testing AI solutions to check if users under 18 are providing accurate age information.
