Roblox is rolling out new safety features for children under 13 amid criticism over the way it protects younger users.
Free online gaming platform with Approximately 70 million users per day Globally, allowing players to create their own games and play games made by others.
It’s particularly popular with children – but some have complained they’ve Exposure to disturbing and harmful content on the website.
Starting on December 3, game creators will be required to indicate whether their games are suitable for children under 13, and if they do not meet the requirements, players 12 and under will be blocked.
Starting November 18, teenagers under the age of 13 will also be banned from “social spaces,” online spaces where players can talk to each other via text and voice.
It designates the Hangouts experience as a game where the “primary theme or purpose” is for people to interact with each other as their own identities, rather than role-playing as characters.
Starting on the same day, younger users will also lose access to “free-form 2D user creations,” which are said to “allow users to draw or write in 2D and copy those creations to other users without having to complete the creation through Roblox.” Moderate”.
This is thought to be to prevent users from writing or drawing offensive images or messages that are difficult to moderate.
“We recognize that the deadline is approaching, but we greatly appreciate your cooperation in helping us ensure that Roblox remains a safe and civilized place for users of all ages to gather,” Said in an article on the Roblox developer website.
Roblox is the most popular game among children aged 8 to 12 in the UK, according to media regulator Ofcom.
But it has faced criticism for its protection of younger users, One young man told the BBC in May Someone contacted him on Roblox and asked for pornographic images.
At the time, online safety regulator Ofcom asked tech companies to hide “toxic” content from children and published a draft code of conduct.
Since then, more problems have arisen, Türkiye completely blocks Roblox August.
Roblox said it was making changes to address “behavior that may pose a risk to our youngest users.”
“Going forward, all creators will be required to fill out a questionnaire for each experience they wish to provide for users under the age of 13,” the statement said.
“This means all unrated experiences will be filtered from searches and any public or recommended categories for users under 13.”
But despite announcing that the changes would begin quickly, it said enforcement of the requirements would not begin until 2025.
