Roblox has banned kids from the unrated experiences and social hangout spaces to protect them against paedophiles

Roblox Corporation has implemented new rules to ensure the safety of children. Roblox Corporation is also addressing the issue of inappropriate 'experiences,' as Roblox calls their games and hangout areas. This includes introducing parental control for anyone under 13, and now banning children from certain areas within Roblox.

"As Roblox grows and learns, we continue to enhance our safety measures in order to keep users of any age safe on our platform. We need your help to accomplish this," says a Roblox post. "As part this, we would like to inform you about two changes:

By default, users younger than 13 years old will not be allowed to play, search for, or discover unrated experiences. This will give parents and users more information about the content available on Roblox, and help them to make better choices about what they would like to play. "We will restrict access to Free-form User Creation and Social Hangouts to users 13+."

Social Hangouts can be games, hubs or social spaces where users can communicate through text chats or voice chats. This does not include roleplaying, or any real-life simulation in which the players "adopt different roles or are provided with objects to role-play."

These spaces were previously some of the most dangerous experiences for children on Roblox. Bloomberg reported that a paedophile used this tool to groom, kidnap, and sexually abuse a 15-year old girl, just 18 months after he was exposed by the community as a predator.

Call me crazy, if adults are causing problems on a gaming platform intended for children, then they should be the ones who are restricted from certain areas, not children. This would be difficult to regulate and enforce. Therefore, parental controls and age restriction may be the best option for now.

Creators will have to fill out a questionnaire for each experience they want to offer for users under 13 by December 3, 2024. This is because "parents and youth users need accurate information on the experiences that they are playing." If creators do not complete the questionnaire then their creations are registered as "unrated". They will also be filtered from any public recommendations or search for players under 13 In the future, the questionnaire will be more closely integrated with the publishing process to better align with industry standards and promote safety and usability.