Roblox, a popular children’s gaming platform, is increasing parental monitoring to address concerns about child grooming, exploitation, and inappropriate content. The platform will now restrict young users from accessing certain content that may be violent, crude, or frightening.
Starting from Monday, parents will have access to a dashboard on their phones where they can see their kids’ interactions, daily usage time, and age. This feature aims to provide accurate recording of children’s activities.
Users under 9 will be limited to “mild” rated games and will require parental approval to access “moderate” content. These ratings differentiate between unrealistic violence and more realistic portrayals of violence.
Furthermore, pre-teens will not be able to chat outside the game as part of global rule tightening. Roblox has become a popular online destination for children aged 8-12 in the UK, after major platforms like Google, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
In response to recent reports of concerning content on the site, Roblox is taking measures to increase safety. The company’s automated software already monitors text and multimedia content to enforce community standards.
Despite the platform’s millions of user-generated game worlds enjoyed by millions of users daily, concerns remain about inappropriate content and interactions. Roblox has faced criticism for hosting games with themes of violence, depression, and even racism.
Calls for better protection of children using Roblox have intensified, prompting the company to implement stricter controls and monitoring. The company remains committed to maintaining safety and civility on the platform.
New restrictions on age-appropriate content and parental controls will be implemented in the coming weeks to enhance child protection measures on Roblox.
Source: www.theguardian.com
