Roblox Has Added Facial Age Verification, With Very Mixed Results

Roblox has begun the global rollout of its facial age-check system, which will be required for all players who want to access in-game chat. The rollout has not gone smoothly so far, with some players' ages being wildly miscalculated, others finding workarounds, and some flat out refusing to engage with the verification system due to privacy concerns.

Roblox's age verification system first started rolling out in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in early December, and now will be extended to all regions where chat is available. The AI-powered age check, which estimates a user's age by analyzing their face, must be completed to unlock chat features. Users over 13 have the option of verifying their age using ID instead.

The estimated ages are used by Roblox to lock off chat with users who are outside of a person's age range--for example, a 13-year-old can chat with users between the ages of nine and 17, while a 16-year-old can chat with users aged 13-20. The new age check is designed to safeguard children from predators, following intense scrutiny on Roblox from legislators, the media, and concerned parents. However, users have quickly proven how easily it can be bypassed.

Wired reports finding Roblox accounts that have been age-verified as young as nine for sale on ebay, while Roblox has acknowledged that some parents are age-checking for their children, resulting in their accounts being sorted into the 21+ age group. Social media is rife with videos of players using different tactics to bypass the age check, including using virtual avatars, photographs of celebrities, or even drawing on facial hair and wrinkles. Last year, when Discord and Reddit implemented age verification in certain regions, users discovered that Death Stranding 2's Norman Reedus could be used to bypass certain AI-powered facial age checks.

Alongside those intentionally trying to fool the system, other Roblox users who have tried to engage with the system legitimately have found that the AI age estimation is often inaccurate. Multiple social media posts show users who claim to be over the age of 18 being categorized in the 13-15 year old category, while others claim that siblings as young as 10 have been sorted into older age categories.

Some users have flat-out refused to engage with the age verification system at all, choosing to leave chat features locked due to privacy concerns with the AI verification software. YouTuber Schlep, known for his content around safety in Roblox, posted a warning that the company providing Roblox's age-verification service, Persona, is currently being sued over privacy and data safety concerns.

Overall, players aren't happy with the new policy, with some choosing to protest in game. In its blog post about the new system, Roblox says that "more than 50% of daily active users" have completed age verification in the regions where it was rolled out in early December--a relatively low percentage considering over 40% of players have instead chosen to go without chat features for over a month. Whether the age check will improve safety concerns on the beleaguered platform remains to be seen.

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