Roblox introduces new rules for children under 13 years old following a scathing report on child safety

Roblox has implemented new policies that restrict the content that children can access on the platform and how they interact with other users. They've also introduced a new account type, which allows verified parents to monitor and manage their children's activities in the game.

Roblox is also making changes to its content labels: Instead of age ratings, Roblox will apply labels "based on the type of content users can expect in an experience." This change, which was announced earlier this month by the company, will prevent users under the age 13 from accessing most chat functionality. Their search results and recommendations for games will also exclude those without maturity tags. Roblox has also made changes to its content labeling: Instead of age rating, Roblox will now apply labels "based upon the type of content that users can expect from an experience." This change "should give parents greater clarity in making informed decisions about what's appropriate for their child."

Users under the age of 9 will only be able to access content that is labelled as "mild" or "minimal", but "moderate" content can be accessed with parental consent. Roblox developers will have until December 3, 2018 to update their games in order to comply with the new labelling scheme, otherwise they will be excluded by default from players under 13.

A new type of parental account is also notable. Parents can link their account with their child after verifying their identity with a credit card or ID. This will allow them to see their child's friend list and how much time they have spent playing the game. They can also set daily time limits for their child's account.

The new account type and policies were first announced in October without any details, shortly after a research firm for investment accused Roblox of having a "pedophilia hellscape".

This eye-catching accusation was only the latest criticism about Robox's child-safety record. In August, Turkey banned the game over concerns of "child abuse." Just before that, Bloomberg reported a Roblox creator who used the app to groom, kidnap, and sexually assaulted a 15-year old girl 18 months after he had been exposed by the community as a predator. In February, parents sued the company, claiming that the game was "built on the exploitation" of children. Stefano Corazza, head of the Roblox Studio, denied the charge a few months after.