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Roblox is introducing new safety features for children under the age of 13, following criticism of how it protects younger users.
The free online gaming platform, which has around 70 million daily users, external worldwide, allows players to create their own games and play those made by others.
It is particularly popular with children – but some have complained they have been exposed to upsetting and harmful content on the site.
Starting 3 December, game creators will be asked to say whether their games are suitable for under-13s – with any that fail to do so being blocked for players 12 and younger.
And from 18 November, under-13s will also be barred from accessing “social hangouts”, which are online spaces where players can talk to each other by text and voice.
It specifies hangout experiences as games where “the primary theme or purpose” is to allow people to communicate with each other as themselves, rather than role-playing as a character.
Younger users will also be unable to use “free-form 2D user creation” from the same date, which it said were games “that allow users to draw or write in 2D and replicate those creations to other users without the completed creation going through Roblox moderation”.
It is thought that this is aimed at preventing users writing or drawing offensive images or messages which are difficult to moderate.
“We recognize the deadline is soon, but we greatly appreciate your cooperation in helping us ensure Roblox is a safe and civil place for users of all ages to come together,” it said in a post on the Roblox developer website, external.
