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Roblox, one of the world's most popular gaming platforms, is expanding its safety measures to prevent children from chatting with adult strangers. Mandatory age checks for chat features will be introduced, beginning in December for Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, with a global rollout set for January. This move comes as the platform faces ongoing criticism and lawsuits in several US states over child safety concerns, including access to inappropriate content and adult communication.
The launch also comes just ahead of Australia's social media ban for under-16s - the government is under pressure to include gaming platforms such as Roblox.
In March, the chief executive of Roblox, Dave Baszucki, said in an interview that the company went to great lengths to keep children safe. However he also urged parents to be guided by their own instincts.
"My first message would be, if you're not comfortable, don't let your kids be on Roblox," he said.
"That sounds a little counter-intuitive, but I would always trust parents to make their own decisions.”
Rani Govender, policy manager for child safety online at the NSPCC, said action had been needed because young people had been exposed to "unacceptable risks" on Roblox, "leaving many vulnerable to harm and online abuse."
The charity welcomed the platform's latest announcement but called on Roblox to "ensure they deliver change for children in practice and prevent adult perpetrators from targeting and manipulating young users."
The platform averaged more than 80 million daily players in 2024, about 40% of them under the age of 13.
The UK's Online Safety Act has strict laws for all tech firms specifically aimed at protecting children from online harms. The communications regulator, Ofcom, is responsible for enforcing the act.
Anna Lucas, online safety supervision director at Ofcom, said she was pleased about the new age checking measures.
"Platforms must now take steps to keep kids safe, and we're ensuring they meet their responsibilities. There's more to do, but change is happening."
In the US, Roblox is facing lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky and Louisiana over child safety concerns.
Roblox says it will become the first large gaming platform to make facial age verification a requirement for accessing the chat features.
