Roblox blocks children from chatting to adult strangers

Children will no longer be able to chat with adult strangers on Roblox, one of the world's most popular gaming platforms, as part of expanded safety measures.

Mandatory age verification will be introduced for accounts using chat features starting in December for Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and in January for the rest of the world.

Roblox has been criticized for allowing teenagers to access inappropriate content and communicate with adults, and has been sued in several US states over child safety concerns.

The launch also happens right before Australia has banned social media for children under 16 – The government is under pressure to include gaming platforms such as Roblox.

In March, Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki told the BBC that parents who are concerned about the service “should not allow their children to be on [it]”.

However, some parents and campaigners warned that children could still be exposed to inappropriate content or talk to adults on the platform, despite the safety measures in place.

Rani Govender, children's online safety policy manager at the NSPCC, said young people were exposed to “unacceptable risks” on Roblox, “leaving many vulnerable to harm and abuse online”.

The charity applauded the platform's efforts but called on Roblox to “ensure that they deliver change for children in practice and prevent adult criminals from targeting and manipulating young users.”

In 2024, the platform averaged more than 80 million daily players, about 40% of whom were under 13 years of age.

The UK's Online Safety Act contains strict laws for all technology companies, specifically aimed at protecting children from harm online.

Communications regulator Ofcom is responsible for enforcing the law.

Anna Lucas, director of online safety oversight at Ofcom, said she was pleased with the new age verification measures.

“Platforms must now take steps to ensure the safety of children and we will ensure they live up to their responsibilities. There is still a lot to be done, but change is happening.”

In the US, Roblox is facing lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky and Louisiana over child safety concerns.

Roblox says it will become the first major gaming platform to make facial age verification a requirement to access chat features.

Matt Kaufman, Roblox's chief security officer, said at a press briefing that age-detection technology is “pretty accurate.”

He said the system could make accurate estimates “within one to two years” for users aged five to 25.

Currently, it can be used voluntarily by anyone in the world.

Users who complete the process will be divided into age groups: up to nine years old, from 9 to 12, from 13 to 15, from 16 to 17, from 18 to 20 and 21+.

Players can only communicate with other people of the same age unless they add someone as a “trusted connection”, which is a feature for people they know.

Children under 13 will still be blocked from accessing private messages and some chats unless a parent gives permission.

The new approach addresses concerns about adults coming into contact with younger players.

In a BBC test earlier this year, a 27-year-old user and a 15-year-old user on unrelated devices were able to exchange messages.

At the time, Roblox said attempts to circumvent its rules often involved users trying to move conversations across different platforms.

Age verification will use facial estimation technology through the device's camera inside the Roblox app to estimate the user's age.

According to the company, the images are processed by an external vendor and are deleted once the review is completed.

Roblox says parents will still be able to manage their child's account, including updating the child's age once verification is complete.

The platform already prohibits the sharing of images and videos in chats and severely limits links to external sites.

The company says the new system will offer a more “age-appropriate” experience across the platform and expects other firms to adopt similar practices.

The changes come as groups Parents Together Action and UltraViolet stage a first-of-its-kind virtual protest inside Roblox.

The group will present a digital petition, signed by more than 12,000 people, demanding the platform take stricter measures to ensure child safety.

He calls for radical change, declaring: “Roblox must stop being a playground for predators.”