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Roblox is improving its age verification system for users who want to message other players, and is introducing age-specific chats so that children, teens and adults can only message people their own age.
The moves come as the popular gaming platform continues to face criticism and lawsuits over child safety issues, and as a growing number of countries and jurisdictions introduce age verification laws.
Earlier in July, the company announced an age estimation tool provided by Persona. It requires players to take a video selfie, which will be used to estimate their age. Roblox says videos are removed after age verification is processed.
Users can use the platform without submitting a face scan, but will not be able to access the chat feature to communicate with other users.
Roblox does not allow children under 13 to communicate with other users outside of games unless they have explicit parental permission – changes first brought a year ago. Unlike other platforms, it doesn't encrypt private chat conversations, so it can monitor and moderate them.
Although some experts expressed caution about the reliability of facial age assessment toolsMatt Kaufman, Roblox's chief security officer, said the system can accurately estimate a person's age to within one or two years for people between the ages of five and 25.
As concerns grow over the potential abuse of young children on the gaming platform, Roblox is rolling out changes that will tighten messaging restrictions for young users. Children under 13 will not be able to send messages directly without parental consent.
“But of course there are always people who may be well outside the traditional bell curve. And in cases where you disagree with the score you receive, you can provide proof of identification or use parental consent to correct it,” he said.
Once users pass age verification, they will be categorized into age groups: under nine, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20 and over 21. Users will then be able to chat with their age group or similar age groups, depending on their age and chat type.
On the coast7:15Lawsuit filed against Roblox in British Columbia Supreme Court, alleging the gaming platform is addictive to children
Justin Giovannetti, a partner at Slater Vecchio in Vancouver, talks with host Gloria Makarenko about the lawsuit against the creators of the online video game platform Roblox. The lawsuit, which includes Slater Vecchio, alleges harmful design elements that make it too exciting for children.
Voluntary age verification will be available immediately, and Roblox said it will begin implementing age verification in select markets, including Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, in the first week of December. The measure will expand to the rest of the world, including Canada, in January.
A growing number of tech companies are introducing age verification systems to comply with regulations or to stave off criticism that they are not doing enough to protect children. This includes Google, which recently began testing a new age verification system for YouTube that uses artificial intelligence to distinguish between adults and minors based on their viewing history.
Instagram is also testing an artificial intelligence system to detect whether children are lying about their age and placing them on teen accounts that restrict viewing options if they suspect the user is underage.
