Age checks will be rolled out and forced from December onwards for Australia and New Zealand, disabling chat until an age has been verified.
As the deadline approaches for the Australian government’s Social Media Minimum Age (also known more commonly as the social media ban), companies are beginning to make changes.
Meta responded almost immediately last year with a feature for teens, and more is on the way following the tests of age assurance technology. The heat is on and the deadline is near, with affected companies and services rush to get responses in place by December 10, which is when the go live date is for the new minimum age rules.
Game services aren’t strictly included, it seems, but one service that might be concerned is Roblox, a game and experience app largely focused on kids with its own chat system that has seen its fair share of controversies. Child safety is a big concern at the platform, and one that has seen it reported on at various outlets over the years.
Even though Roblox is reportedly not included as part of the platforms that will need to verify a child’s age in the social media ban, the company is set to require age assurance checks all the same, a process that will place kids into a specific age group of who they can talk to.
As some experts call for Roblox to be included, the addition almost seems like a response just in case Roblox is added to the social media minimum age rules later on.
The system will use a facial analysis system selfie system to “check” an age, then place that player into an age group category accordingly. Among those will be one for kids under nine years of age, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, and 18 and higher, with the various groups able to talk to similar age groups and younger.
For instance, someone estimated to be age 12 using facial recognition will be able to talk to players aged 15 and younger, while someone estimated to be 18 can talk to players aged 16 and older. If players have younger or older siblings, they can be added as a “Trusted Connection”, and then talk to them.
Chat will reportedly be turned off by default for all players estimated to be under nine years of age, though parents will be able to change that with consent after an age check.
“Every day, we work to provide over 150 million users with a safe, positive, age-appropriate experience on Roblox,” said Matt Kaufman, Chief Safety Officer for Roblox.
“By requiring facial age checks to access chat features, we’re helping create an age-appropriate environment for every user, and we encourage the broader industry to adopt similar standards,” he said.
Roblox notes that its facial age estimation technology won’t be the only way it can verify a player’s age, with ID verification also on offer, though likely through a parent’s account using parental controls.
The company notes that any image and video data from the facial checks will be deleted immediately after processing, and that age checks are optional, but chat won’t be accessible unless an age is checked and verified.
In fact while the age estimation process is optional, from December it won’t be. From that first week of December, Roblox has noted it will start to enforce the age-check system in Australia, New Zealand, and even the Netherlands, with the rest of the world seeing it in January.
It seems Australia has a front row seat, likely because of the incoming social media age assurance rules set to roll out.
The service will also offer a resource for parents to help set up their accounts and understand the platform. As part of these changes, Roblox is reportedly using real-time AI monitoring and human experts to help bolster the safety of the platform.
However, Roblox has noted it’s the first online gaming and communication platform to Require age checks for its chat service, a system that appears to be fairly easy to use, thanks to its use of in-app selfies.
Australians and New Zealanders can officially try the process voluntarily now, ahead of it becoming a requirement in early December. From then, you won’t really have a choice if you plan to chat, but kids under 16 will be limited to their own age groups.
