South Dakota after-school funds included in Roblox settlement
$15 million deal with online gaming platform demands stronger age verification, expanded parental controls
After-school programs in South Dakota are getting a portion of a $15 million windfall headed to the state as part of a legal settlement with an online gaming company accused of exposing children to online threats.
The Attorney General’s Office on Monday announced that immersive gaming and creation platform Roblox has also agreed to establish age-verification requirements to better ensure minors are using age-appropriate content as part of the agreement reached this month with South Dakota, one of several states involved in litigation with the company.
“It improves on-line security and provides funds to those state agencies involved in protection and education,” Attorney General Marty Jackley said, noting that Roblox also will underwrite a two-year public education campaign on the dangers of unchecked online activity valued at $1 million and designed to reach a South Dakota audience.
The settlement, which will be paid out over four years, directs $5 million to the South Dakota Department of Education. Twenty percent of that funding — about $1 million — will be used to provide financial aid to governmental and nonprofit after-school programs.
Another $2.6 million will go to South Dakota’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is part of the Attorney General’s Office.
Roblox has committed to using facial age estimation technology and government-issued identification to verify users’ ages. The company also will use behavioral monitoring to identify users whose ages may have been entered incorrectly while incorporating privacy protections into the age-verification process, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Parents also will gain expanded control over their children’s use of the platform. The new parental controls allow parents to determine who their children communicate with, which games they play and whether adults outside their trusted connections can transfer the platform’s virtual currency, Robux. For minors without a linked parent account, Roblox said default content settings will provide additional protections.
Adult users and users younger than 16 will not be able to communicate unless they are designated as trusted friends on the platform. Trusted friends for users younger than 13 will require parental consent. Unless a parent chooses otherwise, users ages 13 through 15 may add trusted friends using a QR code or phone contact importer.
Under the agreement, Roblox also will not allow communications involving minors to be encrypted. Unencrypted communications allow law enforcement to more easily investigate child exploitation networks, human trafficking and the distribution of illegal or harmful content.
South Dakota could receive up to an additional $5.4 million in damages if Roblox fails to comply with the terms of the settlement.
