If you've grown up in the last decade or have had kids growing up in the last decade, you have probably heard of the gaming platform called Roblox. Roblox has recently added a feature to approximate a person's age using their device's camera and AI. 

MeepCity, a game in Roblox | Source: 300mind

Roblox has defended the child safety system, but there have been parents calling on Roblox because there have been errors in the system, misclassifying children and putting them with an older age group. 

144 million people use Roblox daily. Roblox is adding new account categories called Roblox Kids and Roblox Select, which are specific accounts that show the user the different features and versions they can access. 

Some parents have expressed concerns over their children being incorrectly identified as adults and being put in the adult group of users. 
 

Roblox Logo | Source: Metamandrill

Matt Kaufman, Roblox Chief Safety Officer, said in an interview, "The company's age‑estimation system, which includes facial analysis, is now used by more than half of its daily users, amounting to tens of millions of people worldwide."
 

There is no data currently that is publicly available showing how often kids are incorrectly aged using the platform. Kaufman stated that the technology is better than asking users to input their age themselves, as kids usually incorrectly put their age in as older than they actually are. 
 

Users are already required to pass an age check before using chat features. This places users in specific age groups, intended to limit chats between children, teens, and adults. Roblox has stated that this is to reduce grooming and unwanted contact. 
 

Emergency Response: Liberty County, a roleplay game within Roblox | Source: Roblox

Under the new restriction, users who do not verify their age will only be able to access children's content and will not be able to communicate on the platform. 

Developers of games on the platform say that parents should have a better eye on their children when playing games over safety fears. Parents say that correcting an age verification error can be stressful and difficult to do. 

When there is an error, children or their parents can submit an appeal, use ID Verification, or reset the verification and try it again. Users will also have to reverify their age group if their behaviour doesn't consistently match their age group. 

Prof Sonia Livingstone of the Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics, says that the platform still poses real risks to children due to the communication access within the app, due to the adult content and ways to contact them.