Putting Roblox’s new child safety features to the test | #childpredator | #onlinepredator | #sextrafficing

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Roblox’s new safety protocols are now in effect. The company said the new guardrails are designed to better protect children from online predators.

8 News Now put those safeguards to the test, including its age-estimation technology. Roblox Vice President of Safety Product Policy, Eliza Jacobs, said the safeguards will help determine what content children can access. 

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“When you’re doing it, there’s a live-ness check. You have to move your head left and right. That is really to show that there’s a real person on the other end of it. Right, you’re not holding up a photo. You’re not trying to inject some sort of AI generation,” she explained. “It’s actually really hard to fake ears and where your ears are. That’s part of our fraud checks.” 

8 News Now sat down with Mayra Pacheco of Prevent Child Abuse Nevada to test out the technology by creating an account using the birth date of an 8-year-old child. Afterwards, Roblox attempted to verify the account’s age. The verification process required a user to center their face on the camera and turn side to side. 

8 News Now showed several printed childhood photos from different angles to see if the system could be fooled, but all attempts were unsuccessful.

 Roblox child safety enhancements start in June 

“I was relieved the images didn’t work. Then, I was like, what if there was an image of the side and other side? How would that work?” she questioned.

8 News Now then scanned a live human face, and the system guessed quickly and was only off by one year. After Roblox determined the account user was over 18, 8 News Now was granted access to content without parental permission required.

8 News Now explored content available on the account and reviewed the platform’s chat features.

“Just a bunch of people, right, which we don’t know the exact ages of all these people, and they’re sharing a bunch of different things,” Pacheco explained.

During chat, various users were sharing data, such as where they were from. Meanwhile, other users argued against sharing that type of information. Roblox also provided users with an option to report inappropriate content or behavior.

 Roblox reaches $12M kids safety agreement with Nevada 

Pacheco believes the new safety features are a step in the right direction, however, he said parents should remain cautious.

“I don’t recommend anyone trusting anything when it comes to the safety of your child,” she said.

When asked what additional protections could be beneficial, Pacheco questioned if the chat feature is even needed after all.

“Can you have the game without it? Is it really necessary?” she asked.

The platform changes follow a $12 million settlement in April between Roblox and the Nevada attorney general’s office. The gaming platform faces litigation in other states, including Texas and Kentucky.

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