Rodney Walker, the Platforms’s CTO, reacted by saying The Verge’s account is “responsible for how we protect our younger users” and therefore outlines new safety measures in Roblox tailored toward children under age 13.
Roblox is a free online gaming platform with about 70 million daily users globally, on which players can design their own games and play those made by fellow gamers.
Especially popular with kids – but some have said they encountered unpleasant and inappropriate material on-site.
From 3 December onwards, game developers will be required to specify if their games are appropriate for under-13s – with any that aren’t being prevented from anybody under the age of 12 playing it.
From 18 November, under-13s will also be prohibited from these “social hangouts,” which are text and voice chat places for players to talk to one another.
It defines hangout activities as at Pixelant games “the main theme or purpose” being to enable people to connect in their own identities and without performing a character.
From the same date it disabled “free-form 2D user creation” for younger users too, which it defined as 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”.
This is believed to be used to stop users from writing or drawing abuse pictures or texts that are hard to moderate.
In a post on the Roblox developer website, it said: “We know this deadline is fast approaching but we do appreciate your assistance as we endeavor to make Roblox a safe and civil place where people of all ages can safely meet up.
It is open-ended gameplay in a sandbox world that appeals to children aged 8–12, and according to media regulator Ofcom, it is the most played game in this age group across the UK.
However, it has been criticised for how it protects younger users – one teenager told the BBC back in May that he had been contacted on Roblox and solicited sexual images.
Ofcom, the online safety regulator, told tech firms to be “as far away from being a source of supply to that content” as they could be and published draft codes of practice.
Turkey also fully blocked access to Roblox in August, and this followed by other incidents since then.
Daunt, speaking on behalf of Roblox, said in a statement to the BBC: “As an open and transparent company with our community of developers we need to communicate important facts about changes before they go live.
Adding, “We know we will never stop being vigilant but we’re always working to make our systems and policies even safer — over 30 improvements shipped this year and more to come.
However, it said that although the changes would take place fast, it would not enforce the requirements for another two years.
