Roblox announced that it aims to roll out age estimation technology to all of its users by the end of 2025. Users on the gaming and social network will have to confirm their age in order to access communication features within the platform under the new policy. Roblox initially rolled out an age verification option to teen accounts in July as part of an effort to keep users younger than 13 from accessing select chat features.
In addition to confirming ages for individual accounts, Roblox also said it plans to adopt new systems that will limit communication between adults and minors unless they already know each other offline. Age verification can be completed by providing a selfie that Roblox and its partner will analyze or by submitting an accepted form of identification.
Roblox has drawn criticism for what many claim are failures to adequately protect younger users from bad actors, including facing lawsuits. The platform started rolling out more stringent policies aimed at child safety last year. These rules kept some interactive features away from the under 13 age group, while other additions were aimed at giving parents tools to curate their children’s experience.
Age verification is becoming a go-to method to try and protect minors from accessing inappropriate content online. Utah was the first state to adopt a requirement to prove users’ ages in order to access app stores, and other states like Mississippi are placing similar requirements on social media networks. There have been legal challenges, however. The tech sector has been arguing that their platforms should not be responsible for confirming ages, while digital privacy advocates have questioned whether sufficient protections have been enacted to keep users’ personal information safe with these new laws.
