Roblox is starting to roll out the mandatory age checks that will require all of its users to submit an ID or scan their face in order to access the platform’s chat features. The updated policy, which the company announced earlier this year, will be enforced first in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands and will expand to all other markets by early next year.
The company also detailed a new “age-based chat” system, which will limit users’ ability to interact with people outside of their age group. After verifying or estimating a user’s age, Roblox will assign them to an age group ranging from 9 years and younger to 21 years and older (there are six total age groups). Teens and children will then be limited from connecting with people that aren’t in or close to their estimated age group in in-game chats.
Unlike most social media apps which have a minimum age of 13, Roblox permits much younger children to use its platform. Since most children and many teens don’t have IDs, the company uses “age estimation” tech provided by identity company Persona. The checks, which use video selfies, are conducted within Roblox’s app and the company says that images of users’ faces are immediately deleted after completing the process.
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Source: Roblox begins asking tens of millions of children to verify their age with a selfie
Deleted by Roblox itself, but also by Persona? Pretty scary, 1. having a database of all these kiddies faces and their online persona’s, ways of talking and typing, and 2. that even if the data is deleted, it could be intercepted as it is sent to Roblox and on to the verifier.
Robin Edgar
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