Roblox Facial Safety Checks Aim to Prevent Kids Talking Outside of Their Age Groups

Online game platform Roblox will start blocking children from talking to adult strangers starting next month using facial age estimation.

As online games platform Roblox faces fresh lawsuits alleging the system’s design has made children “easy prey” for predators, Roblox will start blocking children from talking to adults and older teen strangers starting next month.

Roblox has around 150 million daily players, 40% of whom are under the age of 13. Starting next month, the platform will start enforcing facial age estimation to allow children to chat with strangers only if they are in their approximate age group.

The company said it would be the first online gaming or communication platform to require age checks for communication—though similar checks have been introduced for users of pornography sites in the UK over the summer.

Roblox has compared the age groups of its new system to those used in elementary, middle, and high schools. Users will be placed into the following age groups: under nine, nine to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, or 21 and over. Children will only be able to chat with others in their age group and similar ones; for example, a child whose estimated age is 12 will be able to chat only with those under 16. Children will be blocked from chatting with adults they do not know in real life.

The system will first be introduced in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. It will be rolled out elsewhere starting in January. Notably, images and video used for age estimation checks will not be stored, Roblox said.

“We see it as a way for our users to have more trust in who the other people they are talking with are in these games,” said Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief security officer. “And so we see it as a real opportunity to build confidence in the platform and build confidence amongst our users.”

The change comes amid allegations in lawsuits from families alleging the “systemic predation of minors” on Roblox. Matt Dolman, a Florida lawyer who has filed 28 suits against the company, said the primary allegations concern the platform being run “recklessly and deceptively” in a way that led to the sexual exploitation of plaintiffs.

Among these include a 13-year-old girl in Nevada targeted by a “dangerous child predator” who posed as a child and built a false emotional connection to manipulate her into giving him her phone number. He then coerced her into sending explicit pictures and videos of herself.

“Had [Roblox] taken any steps to screen users before allowing them on the apps, [the girl] would not have been exposed to the large number of predators trolling the platform,” the claim alleges.

Other cases filed in recent days include a seven-year-old girl in Philadelphia and a 12-year-old in Texas, both of whom were allegedly groomed on Roblox by predators into sending explicit images of themselves (via other platforms).

A spokesperson for Roblox said it was “deeply troubled by any incident that endangers any user,” and that “we prioritize the safety of our community.”

“This is why our policies are purposely stricter than those found on many other platforms,” they continued. “We limit chat for younger users, don’t allow user-to-user image sharing, and have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information.”

“We also understand that no system is perfect, and that is why we are constantly working to further improve our safety tools and platform restrictions to ensure parents can trust us to help keep their children safe online, launching 145 new initiatives this year alone.”

“It is time for gaming companies to put their responsibilities to children at the center of their services,” said Beeban Kidron, the UK founder of the 5Rights Foundation, which campaigns for the digital rights of children. “Roblox’s announcement claims that what they are introducing will set best practices for the sector—a bold assertion from a company that has been slow to address predatory behavior and has allowed adult strangers, and older children, easy access to millions of younger users. I hope they are right.”