Roblox Age Verification Rollout Faces Widespread Accuracy Issues and Backlash Roblox’s new mandatory age verification system, launched last week, is already facing significant problems. The system, which requires a selfie for facial age estimation or a government ID for users 13 and up to access in game chat, is reportedly misclassifying both children and adults, drawing intense criticism from the platform’s developer community. The verification initiative is a direct response to growing allegations and lawsuits from multiple US states, including Louisiana, Texas, and Kentucky, which claim Roblox has a child predator problem. Florida’s attorney general has also issued criminal subpoenas. The feature aims to segregate chat by age groups to prevent grooming and inappropriate contact. However, reports from Wired and user testimonials indicate the AI powered tool is failing in both directions. Adults are being incorrectly placed in younger age brackets, and children are easily tricking the system into classifying them as adults. Specific examples include a 23 year old user being identified as 16 17 years old, and an 18 year old placed in the 13 15 range. Conversely, children have successfully spoofed the system by altering their appearance in selfies, such as drawing wrinkles and stubble to be instantly verified as 21 plus. One user even submitted a photo of the late musician Kurt Cobain and received an adult classification. Roblox also acknowledged on its developer forum that some parents have performed the age check on behalf of their children, resulting in those children being placed in the 21 plus category. The company stated it is working on solutions for this issue. In a statement, Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman defended the rollout, calling criticism a fundamental misunderstanding of scaling safety for over 150 million daily users. He stated that tens of millions have already completed the process and emphasized that expecting a flawless system overnight ignores the scale of the undertaking. Kaufman positioned the technology as a new gold standard and foundation for the next decade of the internet, asserting the company will continue to innovate and lead where others have been hesitant. Despite this defense, the rollout has sparked a substantial backlash from the Roblox developer community. The official developer forum is filled with thousands of negative comments, with many calling for the update to be reversed entirely. One developer shared data indicating that the percentage of users engaging with chat in their game plummeted from approximately 90 percent to 36.5 percent after the verification requirement went into effect. Developers are describing their games as feeling lifeless and like ghost towns due to the dramatic drop in chat participation. This presents a major challenge for Roblox, which must now balance its urgent safety priorities with maintaining the social engagement that is core to its platform’s experience. The company’s ability to quickly refine its verification accuracy and address community concerns may be critical for its ongoing stability and user trust.
