Gaming platform Roblox has mandated all users in India and other countries to verify their age to access chat features amid growing criticism and lawsuits over child safety.
Roblox is a virtual universe gaming platform where players worldwide can create and play other games, as well as chat with other players.
With a growing number of tech companies implementing verification systems to comply with regulations or ward off criticism that they are not protecting children, Roblox said it started enforcing age checks in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in the first week of December, and the rest of the world in early January. The gaming platform noted that over 50 per cent of daily active users in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands had already completed the age check, as well as tens of millions of global users.
Google recently started testing a new age-verification system for YouTube that relies on AI to differentiate between adults and minors based on their watch histories, while Instagram is testing an AI system to determine if kids are lying about their ages.
The company said knowing people’s approximate age when chatting would help it create a “safer, more age-appropriate experience for everyone” and ensure that kids, teens and adults will only be able to communicate with people around their own age.
“With this change, Roblox becomes the first large online gaming platform to require age checks for users of all ages to access chat. This marks an important investment in user safety and enables age-appropriate communications and limits conversations between adults and minors,” the company said in a statement last week.
Also Read: France, UK mull social media ban for children under 16
Further, images and videos used for ‘Facial Age Estimation’ process would be deleted after being processed by its vendor Persona. In case of any inaccuracies, it asked users to reach out to the company for further verification. It said users are not required to submit a face scan to use the platform, only if they want to chat with other users.
The company had previously announced the age estimation tool, which is provided by a company called Persona, in July. It requires players to take a video selfie that will be used to estimate their age.
Roblox said it doesn’t allow kids under 13 to chat with other users outside of games unless they have explicit parental permission – and unlike different platforms, it does not encrypt private chat conversations, so it can monitor and moderate them.
While some experts have expressed caution about the reliability of facial age estimation tools, Matt Kaufman, chief safety officer at Roblox, said that between the ages of about 5 to 25, the system can accurately estimate a person’s age within one or two years.
“But of course, there’s always people who may be well outside of a traditional bell curve. And in those cases, if you disagree with the estimate that comes back, then you can provide an ID or use parental consent in order to correct that,” he said.
After users go through the age checks, they will be assigned to age groups ranging from under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20 and over 21. They will then be able to chat with their age group or similar age groups, depending on their age and the type of chat.
“While we welcome the new age ID measures as a step forward, it remains to be seen how effective it will be and whether Roblox will stay the course on a voluntary measure once public scrutiny fades,” said Shelby Knox, director of online safety campaigns at the advocacy group ParentsTogether.
“We have to remember this comes from a platform that has historically been slow to address systemic predatory behaviour despite being marketed to and used by very young children,” she added.
Follow us
