Key Takeaways
- Roblox will require facial age verification for chat access starting December
- Users will be grouped by age to prevent adult-child interactions
- The platform faces multiple lawsuits over child safety concerns
- Age estimation technology has accuracy limitations of 1-3 years
Roblox is implementing mandatory age verification for all chat features, becoming the first major gaming platform to require facial recognition technology to protect children from adult interactions.
Global Rollout Timeline
The age verification system launches in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in early December, with global expansion scheduled for January. All users wanting to access chat must complete either AI-powered facial age estimation or ID verification through third-party provider Persona.
Users will take a video selfie while moving their face in specific directions to confirm they’re real. After processing, the video is immediately deleted. Verified users will be grouped by age and can only chat with peers in similar age brackets.
Safety Measures and Legal Pressure
Roblox announced these changes following engagement with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner. Additional protections include:
- Accounts for under-16s set to private by default
- Tools preventing adult users from contacting minors without parental consent
- Direct and experience chat disabled until age verification completed
- Voice chat between adults and under-16s completely blocked
The platform faces mounting legal challenges, including lawsuits from Texas, Kentucky, and Louisiana alleging child safety violations. Florida authorities called Roblox “a breeding ground for predators” in a criminal subpoena.
Limitations and Parental Guidance
While welcomed by safety advocates, the technology isn’t perfect. Age estimation can be inaccurate by 1-3 years, potentially placing children in wrong age groups or allowing adults to access younger chats.
Parents can correct their child’s age through linked accounts, while users over 13 can upload ID – raising data privacy concerns. The “trusted connections” feature allowing verified real-world contacts also requires careful monitoring.
Even with age segregation, risks like cyberbullying and virtual sexual assault persist within peer groups. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner continues monitoring Roblox and may classify it as age-restricted social media if needed.
