Amid reports of a growing number of legal claims against the online gaming platform and virtual world Roblox, the company has announced plans to introduce new features to safeguard interactions among younger players. The latest verification features will roll out in the coming months and aim at stopping sexual predators and paedophiles from using the game to target children.
Roblox rolling out new feature to ban kids from talking to adults
With a reported average of 150 million daily players, Roblox’s design has supposedly made children more vulnerable to online predators and paedophiles. As per The Guardian report, several lawsuits allege that predators are using the online virtual platform to groom very young Roblox players. Starting next month, the platform will use facial age estimation to place players into different age groups. They will then be able to communicate only with strangers in their specified age group.
Earlier this year, the UK enforced similar checks under the Online Safety Act to prevent underage users from coming across pornographic content on the internet. Roblox claimed it would become the first online gaming platform to carry out age checks and restrict player communication. The company will first introduce the new verification system in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, followed by the rest of the world in January 2026.
Meanwhile, the new system will place players in age groups of under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and 21 and over. Communication between these age groups will face restrictions; for example, a child in the 9-12 age group can only chat with players in age groups below 16.
Roblox also reportedly said that the images and videos used for the checks won’t be stored. As per the publication above, the company’s chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman, also said, “It’s not enough just for one platform to hold a high standard for safety. We really hope the rest of the industry follows suit with some of the things that we’re doing, to really raise the protections for kids and teens online everywhere.”
Originally reported by Elton Fernandes on Mandatory.
