Coin World News Report:
Roblox has announced stricter safety policies for young users on its online gaming platform. The new changes will add features to help parents monitor and control their children’s activities.
The new policy comes after Roblox faced multiple reports highlighting child exploitation and other safety issues.
Roblox is an online gaming platform that was launched in 2006. It allows users to play games or create games that can be played with friends. Over the years, the platform has become increasingly popular, with 79.5 million daily users and 2.5 million developers, many of whom are pre-teens and teenagers.
Roblox Introduces Stricter Child Protection Policy
Following safety criticisms from Edinburg and Bear’s Cave, Roblox appears to be strengthening its parental controls on the platform.
$RBLX
Here is the email sent to Roblox parents today:
pic.twitter.com/SwqS1MvAb4
– Edwin Dossi (@StockJabber)
October 23, 2024
The gaming platform announced the new, stricter policy through an email sent to parents, stating that it will be implemented from November onwards. The new policy aims to ensure a safer and more regulated experience for teenagers on the online gaming platform.
According to the email, Roblox will introduce Roblox accounts with parental permissions, allowing parents to view and control their children’s accounts from their devices. Parental accounts will also enable parents to view their children’s information, including their friend lists and daily screen time.
Roblox Policy Update Will Allow Parents to Set Up Two-Factor Account Authentication.
Roblox also explained that it is gradually phasing out the need for parental PINs, receiving account-related notifications in parental emails, or requiring account restrictions. The new policy will replace the previous system that required young players on the platform to use accounts with parental permissions. The gaming platform added that settings made with PINs will remain unchanged. Parents will also be able to use verified parental emails to recover Roblox accounts.
The gaming platform also announced that it is changing the default settings for accounts of users under 13. These changes will require children to obtain parental consent to access certain chat features.
“Medium” content will also be restricted to children under 9, accessible only with parental consent. Roblox stated that once the updates are implemented in November, it will provide parents with more information about the updates.
Roblox Succumbs to Pressure from Allegations
The gaming platform’s new child safety policy is a response to allegations made against the online gaming platform.
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Edinburg
The report on the platform was released on October 8, referring to Roblox as a “pedophile hell for children.” The report pointed out that players could seek sexual favors from children in the game, share naked photos of children, and play games with hate speech or even murder.
Many parents found this news disturbing, leading to strong demands for better protection of children on Roblox.
In July, Bloomberg sparked similar concerns by publishing a report on child safety violations on the online gaming platform. The report identified child predators on the platform and provided evidence of them using the in-game currency “Robux” to pay for sexual acts.
Some cases reported predators soliciting child pornography from children on the platform, with the case of Arnold Castilla being a prime example. Months later, Roblox announced updates to address these child safety issues. However, parents continue to call for stricter measures, stating that the platform remains unsafe for children.
