Roblox Introduces AI-Driven Age Verification in Australia as It Seeks Exemption from Under-16 Social Media Ban
Gaming platform rolls out live facial age checks ahead of mandatory global launch, while lobbying to stay outside Australia’s under-16 social media restriction
The online game portal Roblox has begun the rollout of a new age-assurance system in Australia, allowing users to voluntarily submit a live facial age estimate via their device camera in order to chat safely with peers and restrict contact with unknown adults.
The feature, powered by Persona’s age-estimation technology, gives users placement into one of six age-bands: under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20 and 21 or older.
The service said that the feature will become mandatory for users in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands in the first week of December, and then will expand to other markets globally in early January.
Once a user is age-checked, Roblox will restrict the chat functionality so that users can only chat with those in their own age-band or the adjacent bracket(s), while non-verified users may still play games but will be barred from chat functions.
This rollout comes as Australia’s regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, prepares to enforce a landmark law from 10 December that will ban children under sixteen from a designated list of social-media platforms.
Roblox is currently exempt from that list on the basis that it is primarily a gaming platform rather than a conventional social media service.
Roblox maintains that its core function is “immersive gaming” and not feed-based social networking.
Roblox’s chief safety officer described the platform’s philosophy with the comment: “I like to think of it as games being scaffolding for social interaction.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter what the game is.
What really matters is you’re bringing people together to spend time together.” He added that Roblox does not view itself as a social-media service in the sense of a public content feed and popularity contest.
The company further said it has been in “constructive dialogue” with Australia’s regulator and that the new age-verification measures were part of its broader global safety upgrade rather than solely an effort to avoid regulation.
Australia’s safety regulator and child-safety experts have repeatedly called for Roblox to be included in the under-16 social-media ban, citing instances of grooming and harassment on the platform.
The eSafety Commissioner said she has engaged senior Roblox executives personally and emphasised the company’s obligations under Australia’s online safety codes, which carry penalties of up to approximately forty-nine million Australian dollars for non-compliance.
Roblox notes that while the age-estimation technology can mis-classify users (for example the technology previously returned a false-positive rate of about sixty-one per cent for fifteen-year-olds who were told they were sixteen, and about forty-four per cent for fourteen-year-olds) the overall system is accurate to within one or two years of true age, and verification can be corrected via government-issued ID or parental controls.
The platform says that image or video inputs are processed securely through the third-party vendor and deleted after thirty days.
Users who decline verification may still use the gaming features, but chat privileges will be withheld.
With more than 150 million daily users in 180 countries and two-thirds estimated to be over the age of thirteen, Roblox’s changes in Australia signal a significant shift in how global gaming platforms handle age-based interactions and regulatory pressure.
The successful implementation in Australia may pave the way for broader adoption of age-assurance systems across interactive-gaming environments worldwide.
The feature, powered by Persona’s age-estimation technology, gives users placement into one of six age-bands: under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20 and 21 or older.
The service said that the feature will become mandatory for users in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands in the first week of December, and then will expand to other markets globally in early January.
Once a user is age-checked, Roblox will restrict the chat functionality so that users can only chat with those in their own age-band or the adjacent bracket(s), while non-verified users may still play games but will be barred from chat functions.
This rollout comes as Australia’s regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, prepares to enforce a landmark law from 10 December that will ban children under sixteen from a designated list of social-media platforms.
Roblox is currently exempt from that list on the basis that it is primarily a gaming platform rather than a conventional social media service.
Roblox maintains that its core function is “immersive gaming” and not feed-based social networking.
Roblox’s chief safety officer described the platform’s philosophy with the comment: “I like to think of it as games being scaffolding for social interaction.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter what the game is.
What really matters is you’re bringing people together to spend time together.” He added that Roblox does not view itself as a social-media service in the sense of a public content feed and popularity contest.
The company further said it has been in “constructive dialogue” with Australia’s regulator and that the new age-verification measures were part of its broader global safety upgrade rather than solely an effort to avoid regulation.
Australia’s safety regulator and child-safety experts have repeatedly called for Roblox to be included in the under-16 social-media ban, citing instances of grooming and harassment on the platform.
The eSafety Commissioner said she has engaged senior Roblox executives personally and emphasised the company’s obligations under Australia’s online safety codes, which carry penalties of up to approximately forty-nine million Australian dollars for non-compliance.
Roblox notes that while the age-estimation technology can mis-classify users (for example the technology previously returned a false-positive rate of about sixty-one per cent for fifteen-year-olds who were told they were sixteen, and about forty-four per cent for fourteen-year-olds) the overall system is accurate to within one or two years of true age, and verification can be corrected via government-issued ID or parental controls.
The platform says that image or video inputs are processed securely through the third-party vendor and deleted after thirty days.
Users who decline verification may still use the gaming features, but chat privileges will be withheld.
With more than 150 million daily users in 180 countries and two-thirds estimated to be over the age of thirteen, Roblox’s changes in Australia signal a significant shift in how global gaming platforms handle age-based interactions and regulatory pressure.
The successful implementation in Australia may pave the way for broader adoption of age-assurance systems across interactive-gaming environments worldwide.
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