Roblox, the popular online gaming platform, has announced a series of updates aimed at enhancing the safety of children and teenagers, including banning communication between children and adult strangers or older teens, according to a report by The Guardian.
These measures come in response to concerns that the platform allowed predators to easily approach and interact with children due to the game’s design, raising alarm among its large user base, which can reach up to 150 million players.
The new rules are set to take effect at the beginning of next month, requiring users to undergo an age-guidance assessment to classify children into appropriate age groups. Roblox confirmed that it will be the first online gaming platform to implement this system, similar to the mechanism used in the UK to restrict access to adult websites for users under 18.
Age groups will be divided roughly according to school stages as follows:
- Under 9 years old
- 9 to 12 years old
- 13 to 15 years old
- 16 to 17 years old
- 18 to 20 years old
- 21 years and older
Children will only be able to communicate with others within the same age group. The company also emphasized that it will not store any photos or videos used to estimate age, ensuring user privacy is maintained.
