Attorney General Ford Announces Legal Agreement with Roblox

Carson City, NV — Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced a first-of-its-kind agreement with the interactive game platform Roblox that will implement much-needed changes to protect Nevada’s children. In addition to paying $10 million to be used to encourage children to engage in non-digital programs, Roblox has agreed to comprehensive and impactful injunctive relief.

“The agreement we have announced today will protect Nevada’s children from would-be predators in virtual spaces,” said Attorney General Ford. “The injunctive relief that Roblox has agreed to will give parents the tools they need to protect their children on the platform; institute default protections to block predators from engaging with children; and ensure that messages involving minors are not encrypted. I want to thank both the members of my staff who worked so diligently on this agreement and Roblox for coming to the table."

As part of the agreement with Roblox, all users must undergo age verification to ensure children only have access to age-appropriate content on the platform. Roblox has committed to use facial age estimation technology and government issued ID for age assurance and will use behavioral monitoring to identify users who may have been aged incorrectly.

Parents will also have expanded control over their children’s use of the platform under the agreement. This expansion of parental controls allows parents to decide who their children are talking to and the games they are playing on the platform. In the absence of a parent account, the default content mode provides protection to minor users.

In addition, adult users and users under 16 will not be able to chat unless they are a “trusted friend” on the platform. Trusted friends for users under 13 (and up to 16 depending on whether that parent is still linked to the child account) require parental consent. Unless a parent elects otherwise, users between 13 and 15 years old may add trusted friends through a QR code or phone contact importer.

Under the agreement, no communication involving minors on Roblox will be encrypted. By not allowing encryption, law enforcement will be able to more easily combat child exploitation networks, trafficking and the distribution of illegal and harmful content.

Roblox has committed to spend $1 million over the next two years on an Awareness Campaign intended to educate minor users and adults about online safety. In addition, the platform has committed to spend $1.5 million on a law enforcement liaison position that will provide state law enforcement agencies with communication channels to quickly address safety concerns on the platform. These expenses are in addition to the $10 million to be used to educate children and parents on platform safety and encourage children to engage in innovative, non-digital programs.

Download a copy of the consent judgment.

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