Roblox looks to make itself safer for under-13 users with new age limits
The platform has come under heavy criticism for exposing children to harmful and sexually explicit content.
Roblox has announced certain steps to make its platform safer for children below the age of 13, following criticism that it isn’t doing enough to protect younger users.
By December 3, 2024, all creators must self-declare which games or “experiences” are suitable for under-13 users. The games that are not age-rated will be filtered out of search results and recommendations shown to under-13 users.
“Additionally, creators must ensure that all information (such as thumbnail, title, and description) on their experience details page for each experience is appropriate for all users, by meeting either the All Ages or 9+ age recommendations,” Roblox said in a post on its developer forum on Thursday, November 7. However, these requirements will only be enforced from 2025.
Roblox also said it will be blocking access to Social Hangouts for under-13 users from November 18 onwards.
“Social Hangouts are socialising and supportive spaces where the primary theme or purpose of the experience is to communicate (e.g. in text or voice chat) with other users as yourself,” the company said.
“This does not include role-playing or real-life simulation experiences where users adopt a different role or are provided with items to role-play with,” it added.
Furthermore, younger users will not be able to play “free-form 2D user creation” games i.e. games “that allow users to draw or write in 2D and replicate those creations to other users without the completed creation going through Roblox moderation (e.g., writing or drawing on a chalkboard, whiteboard, or with spray paint).”
This particular measure reportedly looks to prevent users from writing or drawing offensive images or messages.
What is Roblox and why has it drawn flak?
Roblox is a free online platform that lets users create their own games and play those that have been created by others, with some social networking aspects as well.
It is known to be particularly popular among children and boasts of an estimated 70 million daily users worldwide. Roblox says that 21 per cent of its users are under the age of nine.
However, the platform that is worth $27 billion has come under heavy criticism for exposing children to harmful, sexually explicit, and upsetting content.
In October, US-based short-selling firm Hindenburg released a report alleging that “its “in-game research revealed an X-rated pedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech.”
“We tracked some of the members of “Adult Studios” and easily found 38 Roblox groups – one with 103,000 members – openly soliciting sexual favors and trading child pornography,” the report read.
Hindenburg also accused the publicly-traded company of lying to its investors about the number of people who use the platform and allegedly inflating engagement hours.
Denying all the allegations, Roblox said, “The financial claims made by Hindenburg Research are simply misleading. The authors are, admittedly short sellers and have an agenda irrespective of the substance of Roblox’s business model and results.”
