Roblox to implement child protection measures and pay $12 million in US settlement
Kyiv • UNN
The gaming platform is introducing facial age verification and parental controls for users up to 16 years old. The company will fund safety measures through an agreement with Nevada.
Roblox, a gaming platform popular among children, will introduce enhanced protections for young users and pay the state of Nevada in the US over $12 million as part of an agreement that State Attorney General Aaron Ford on Wednesday called a first of its kind, UNN reports with reference to AP.
Details
"This agreement will create a safer environment for our children online, and I hope it will serve as a guide for how interactive online platforms allow the youth of our state to use their products," the Democratic attorney general said on Wednesday.
Roblox, used by nearly half of US children under 16, will provide $10 million over three years to support programs such as the Boys & Girls Club and other non-digital activities, Ford said. It will also fund a law enforcement liaison position to respond to platform safety concerns and fund an online safety awareness campaign, Ford said.
The agreement, which was reached in lieu of litigation, includes enhanced protections for minors using the app, such as requiring age verification for all users and restricting nighttime notifications for minors. The gaming platform faces lawsuits in other states, including Texas and Kentucky, alleging that it fails to protect children.
"Roblox is proud to have partnered with Attorney General Ford to reach this landmark agreement, which builds on our work to set a new standard for digital safety," said Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman.
Kaufman said the agreement creates a blueprint for how industry and regulators can work together to protect children.
The agreement comes as prosecutors file lawsuits against social media companies over their role in children's lives. Last month in California and New Mexico, social media companies such as Meta and YouTube were found guilty of designing their platforms to hook young users and ordered to pay over $375 million in fines.
Ford is also considering lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Kik, alleging that the companies have not implemented safety measures for children.
As part of the agreement, Roblox will implement facial age estimation technology to restrict younger users' chats to only those in similar age groups. Adult users and users under 16 will not be allowed to chat unless they are chatting with a trusted friend, Ford said. A trusted friend can be added via QR code or phone contacts to ensure the child knows the person outside the platform, he said. The company will also monitor activity to see if a user has lied about their age, he said.
Roblox will create child accounts for users under 16 that will block access to adult content and provide age-appropriate games. The agreement also expands parental supervision for users under 16. Previously, this supervision was available for users under 13.
Donche King, senior criminal investigator in the Attorney General's office, said that half a million online predators stalk children at any given moment, often across multiple platforms. Most contact with predators occurs through chats and instant messages, he said. He urged parents to have frank conversations with their children about the platforms they are on and to report their concerns to law enforcement.