Roblox to require age verification for users under 9
▼ Summary
– Roblox will require age verification to access games intended for users aged nine or older, introducing new Kids and Select accounts with different protections.
– The platform is implementing these changes amid intense scrutiny and multiple state lawsuits over alleged child safety issues.
– Roblox Kids accounts for ages 5-8 restrict games to “Minimal” or “Mild” content, while Select accounts for ages 9-15 allow access to games with “Moderate” labels.
– Games for these new accounts must pass a three-step review involving developer verification, content moderation, and appropriate maturity labeling.
– The company is also adding new parental controls, like the ability to block specific games, with all updates planned for a global rollout by early June.
A major policy shift is coming to the popular gaming platform Roblox, introducing mandatory age verification for users wishing to access content rated for ages nine and up. This change is a core component of the company’s new Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts, which are designed to create distinct, age-appropriate environments with varying levels of protection. The move arrives as the platform faces significant legal and public pressure over child safety concerns, with multiple state lawsuits currently pending.
Historically, Roblox has implemented various safeguards, such as restricting explicit content, enhancing parental controls, and requiring age checks for chat functions. The company reports that over half of its 144 million daily active users have already completed an age verification step. The new account system represents a more structured approach to these ongoing efforts.
Under the new framework, users determined to be between five and eight years old, or those who decline verification, will be placed into a Roblox Kids account. These accounts are limited to games with “Minimal” or “Mild” content labels. Voice and text chat will be disabled by default, though parents can manually approve specific contacts for their child to communicate with. Conversely, Roblox Select accounts are designated for verified users aged nine to 15, granting access to games with a “Moderate” content rating. For these accounts, chat features will be “gradually turned on based on a user’s age,” according to Roblox chief safety officer Matt Kaufman.
Parents who have linked their account to their child’s profile can also manually set their child’s age. As children grow older, the system will automatically transition them from a Kids account to a Select account, and eventually to a standard adult account.
A critical element of this new system is a three-step review process that all games must pass before becoming available to Kids or Select accounts. Developers must be verified using a government ID or a linked parent account, have two-factor authentication enabled, and hold a Roblox Plus subscription. Each game must also pass the platform’s real-time moderation system and will be monitored based on reports from older players. Furthermore, existing content maturity labels will be replaced later this year with standardized ratings from the International Age Rating Coalition, such as those from the ESRB.
Roblox has not specified how long this new review might take for individual games. A company spokesperson emphasized the need to gather sufficient data from real-time evaluations before granting access to younger audiences. While it is unclear exactly which popular titles will be available initially, the company expressed confidence that a majority of user favorites will be “ready and waiting” after completing the review.
Additional parental control updates include the ability for parents to block specific games for their child until age 16. Roblox plans to have these comprehensive safety updates fully deployed worldwide by the beginning of June.
(Source: The Verge)
