Roblox adds safety measures to ban kids under 13 from social spaces and other experiences | TechCrunch

Throughout the years, several reports have accused Roblox, the popular gaming platform aimed at preteens, of lacking strict safety protocols for children, which exposes them to dangers such as grooming, explicit content, and violent or abusive material.

In a significant update to its safety policy, Roblox plans to keep users under the age of 13 away from unrated experiences. It’ll also prevent access to social hangouts and experiences that use free-form 2D user creation, which both pose risks, as they include options for chatting with other players, who may use inappropriate language, as well as interactive experiences where users can draw or write within the game.

The platform noted in a post to creators on Wednesday that, by default, kids aged 12 years old and younger will no longer be able to “play, search, and discover unrated experiences.” Roblox is also requiring creators to fill out a questionnaire if they want their experience to be available to kids under 13. Creators must ensure that their experience meets either “All Ages” or “9+” recommendations, which notably can still contain “mild violence, heavy unrealistic blood, and/or mild crude humor,” according to its support page. Gambling content, however, is off the table for kids under 13. 

Roblox says it’ll enforce these requirements starting next year. Creators must fill out the form by December 3. The questionnaire is located in the Creator Hub under the Creations tab. Then, choose “Select an Experience” and “Audience.” 

Additionally, users who are younger than 13 are banned from social hangouts, which is likely a response to ongoing concerns about safety within these experiences, which have been criticized for having significant oversight issues. Acknowledging this, one creator in the forum commented, “Kinda sad, but with the amount of… issues in some of these [social hangout] games, I totally understand this.”

Younger users are also unable to access experiences that involve free-form 2D user creation, which enables players to replicate other users’ drawings without going through Roblox moderation. This will begin to take effect on November 18. 

Roblox also listed experiences that are suitable for this age group. These include roleplaying experiences, where players can take on various roles– such as a teacher, police officer, or race car driver– or interact with items. Experiences that feature 3D assets approved by Roblox moderation are also allowed, so young kids can still build houses with blocks, design outfits, and short-form videos.

The new safety initiatives arrive on the heels of the platform introducing changes that require users under 13 to get parental permission to access certain chat functionalities. Players who are under 9 years old, meanwhile, need their parents’  approval to play experiences marked with a moderate content label.

Roblox is also currently testing an age-verification feature that verifies users over the age of 13 with a government-issued photo ID.