Lawsuits claim Roblox endangers kids. New AI age verification aims to block them from chatting with adults

New York CNN If Roblox users want to chat on the online gaming platform they ll soon have to verify their age by providing a leadership ID or by letting an artificial intelligence age estimation tool photograph their face The move comes as the platform faces a string of lawsuits and other contends that it has enabled sexual predators to connect with and abuse children Roblox revealed the updated framework will make it easier to prevent young users from connecting with adult strangers Roblox is a platform where users can create and play online games and interact with each other Unlike countless other online platforms Roblox allows users under the age of the platform has long advertised itself as a fun way for children to learn how to code It has more than million users globally one third of whom are under But the company has come under a microscope following reports of children being groomed abused and in particular cases even kidnapped by adults they met on Roblox The attorneys general of Kentucky and Louisiana filed separate lawsuits accusing Roblox of harming children earlier this year Florida s attorney general also filed a criminal subpoena seeking information from the company last month and calling Roblox a breeding ground for predators Individual families have also sued the company including Becca Dallas who alleges her -year-old son Ethan died by suicide after being groomed via Roblox and messaging site Discord Roblox already has chosen policies and features in place meant to protect young users for example it offers parental controls blocks the sharing of photos and personal information and uses human and AI text and voice moderation It also requires users to verify their age in order to access certain experiences such as games with heavy violence or crude humor But the update stated Tuesday is expected to greatly increase the number of users verifying their age on the platform executives disclosed on a call with reporters Our priority is safety and civility reported Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman We want to make Roblox a safe positive age-appropriate experience for everybody We set extremely high standards for ourselves and we understand that the citizens expects the same from us Tuesday s announcement coincides with a planned virtual protest within Roblox planned by the nonprofit ParentsTogether Action to call for more youth safety features on the platform including stronger default privacy protections for users under It also comes amid a wider push by online platforms to determine users ages to protect young people YouTube and Meta are among the other popular apps using AI for age estimates although the tools vary across platforms Under the new framework all users will be required to verify their age before accessing chat features on Roblox If users choose not to upload an ID they ll have to photograph their faces so AI can estimate their age using innovation from identity verification firm Persona The tool uses the front camera on a user s device and prompts them to move their face in specific directions in an effort to ensure a real person is doing the verification The AI will place users in an estimated age range under - - - - or and they ll only be allowed to chat with other users in or near that range A user estimated to be years old for example would be able to chat with users ages and younger but not and older according to Roblox If the AI places someone into the wrong age group users over can upload an ID to correct their age Parents whose accounts are linked to their child s via Roblox s parental control tools can also correct their child s age ID checks are available only to users older than likely because online privacy regulations are more stringent for younger children Roblox says the images of users faces will be used only for age estimation and they ll be deleted after users are placed in an age bucket We see these changes as a way to help ensure users are able to socialize with others in age groups that are appropriate but also help limit contact between minors and adults that they do not know commented Rajiv Bhatia Roblox vice president and head of user and discovery product Roblox declined to share a specific accuracy rate for its AI age estimation equipment Kaufman mentioned it is typically pretty accurate within one or two years for users between and years old Selected users have discovered workarounds for other platforms face scan age estimation equipment such as by using images of video meeting characters or selfies of other people But Kaufman saidRoblox s device has fairly robust fraud checks in place to determine whether the person is live and moving around and following instructions He added that the system also looks for other anomalies like people trying to repeat use the same face over and over Roblox will roll out age verification on a voluntary basis starting Tuesday It will become mandatory in Australia New Zealand and the Netherlands in December and globally early next year