Roblox has announced that experiences labeled with the Restricted maturity tag will soon only be available to users aged 18 and over. The change raises the age requirement from 17+ and begins rolling out immediately.
Starting August 28, players under 18 can no longer see Restricted experiences in search or recommendations. Later this year, full access will also be blocked for those users.
The platform confirmed that the policy shift applies to both players and developers. Creators under 18 will still be able to access Restricted projects they previously published, but any new experiences with the label can only be uploaded by developers aged 18 or older.
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Ongoing child safety concerns
This comes after Roblox’s recent August 11 ban of YouTuber “predator hunter” Schlep. On top of being banned from the platform, they sent a Cease and Desist letter to the creator.
The Roblox YouTuber boasts over 600,000 subscribers, and claims that his work over the past year helped lead to six arrests. Roblox’s letter accused him of “simulated child endangerment conversations”, “sharing or soliciting personally identifiable information”, and “encouraging users to move conversations off-platform.”
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After the ban, concerns of child safety on the platform rose after Roblox defended its decision to ban the “vigilante.”
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One celebrity looking to shine a light on the debate and the mounting frustrations is Chris Hansen, best known for hosting NBC’s To Catch a Predator, who has built his career exposing those who prey on minors.
Now, he’s turning his attention to Roblox after reaching out to Schlep for upcoming documentary investigating Roblox’s handling of child safety issues.