Key Takeaways
- Roblox will require all users to verify age via government ID or AI face scan to access chat features
- The move responds to multiple lawsuits alleging the platform enabled child predators
- Age verification will roll out globally by early next year with strict age-based chat restrictions
Roblox is implementing mandatory age verification for all users who want to chat on the platform, requiring either government ID submission or AI-powered facial scanning. This major safety update comes as the gaming platform faces multiple lawsuits alleging it enabled sexual predators to target children.
Legal Pressure Mounts on Gaming Platform
The attorneys general of Kentucky and Louisiana have filed separate lawsuits against Roblox this year, while Florida’s attorney general recently called the platform a “breeding ground for predators” in a criminal subpoena. Individual families have also taken legal action, including Becca Dallas who alleges her 15-year-old son died by suicide after being groomed via Roblox and Discord.
Roblox hosts over 150 million users globally, with one-third being under age 13. The platform has faced increasing scrutiny following reports of children being groomed, abused, and even kidnapped by adults they met through the service.
How the New Age Verification Works
Users must choose between uploading a government ID or allowing AI technology from Persona to photograph their face. The system prompts users to move their face in specific directions to verify they’re real people. The AI then places users into age ranges: under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20, or 21+.
Chat access will be restricted to users within similar age ranges. For example, a 12-year-old could chat with users up to age 15 but not with anyone 16 or older.
Accuracy and Privacy Concerns
Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman stated the AI technology is “typically pretty accurate within one or two years” for users between 5 and 25, though the company declined to share specific accuracy rates. The platform claims facial images will be used solely for age estimation and deleted afterward.
Regarding potential workarounds, Kaufman emphasized “fairly robust fraud checks” that detect whether subjects are live and moving naturally, while also identifying repeated use of the same facial images.
Implementation Timeline
Age verification begins voluntarily immediately, becomes mandatory in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in December, and rolls out globally early next year. Users over 13 can correct incorrect age placements using ID verification, while parents can adjust their children’s ages through linked parental control accounts.
“Our priority is safety and civility,” said Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman. “We want to make Roblox a safe, positive, age-appropriate experience for everybody.”
