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Roblox to Roll Out Facial Age Checks for Chat After Dutch Investigation

The move follows a Dutch report of a group using a Roblox horror game to recruit minors for nude images, self-harm, even suicide.

Overview

  • Roblox will pilot face-based age verification in early December in the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, with a global rollout planned for January.
  • Access to chat will require a scan via the device camera, with possible ID photo checks, and the company says images are deleted immediately after verification.
  • Participation is described as voluntary, yet users who decline the scan will not be able to use chat features.
  • Verified users will be placed into age bands—under 9; 9–12; 13–15; 16–17; 18–20; 21+—with chat limited to same or adjacent groups, and under‑9s barred from chat without parental permission.
  • Roblox frames the approach as a first for online games and a potential sector standard; the change will touch millions of Dutch players out of roughly 150 million users worldwide.