Roblox is rolling out new safety features designed to protect children on its platform as the popular online gaming company faces increased scrutiny from state and federal prosecutors.
Senior Reporter Ryan Kruger talks with the vice president of Civility and Partnership at Roblox:
The changes, which will be implemented globally at the beginning of 2026, include facial age verification checks that will restrict minor users to chatting only with children in similar age ranges, preventing communication with adult users.
"We really believe we are leaders in the industry. We're the first platform to mandate this," said Tami Bhaumik, Vice President of Civility and Partnership at Roblox.
Half of all American children under 16 use the Roblox platform, making these safety measures particularly significant for protecting young users from potential predators.
The new age-based chat system is designed to create safer communication environments by grouping users within appropriate age ranges.
"How we look at it, honestly. If you're in middle school, you're able to talk to 6th and 8th graders. If you're in high school, you're able to talk to high school kids. But if you are an adult and you're trying to talk to a minor we are really limiting that interaction," Bhaumik said.
The announcement comes as Roblox faces legal challenges. On the same day as the company interview, federal prosecutors announced a life sentence for Italo Bonini, a former middle school teacher in the Orlando area who pleaded guilty to grooming children he met on Roblox.
Additionally, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued criminal subpoenas against Roblox in October citing concerns about adult predators targeting children on the platform.
"Where it seems to start is adults who pretend to be kids online. They use the social communication aspect of the platform to start asking for nude photos and things like that. They've scheduled meetings. And in the worst cases its led to abuse," Uthmeier said.
Roblox maintains that safety has always been a priority for the company.
"We've been around for 20 years. We started, unlike a lot of the platforms that are out there, we started with kids from day one. Safety and civility have always been a priority for us," Bhaumik said.
The company says these safety changes will roll out automatically and recommends that parents use existing parental controls to ensure they are comfortable with their children's platform usage.
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