Alabama Announces Settlement With Popular Online Game Maker

As a grandfather, I have personally witnessed how popular these online games have gotten over the last several years.

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One of the most popular games has been targeted by those who would try to harm our children, and Alabama is fighting back. Earlier today, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced an agreement with the popular gaming platform, Roblox.

This move will secure improvements to online child safety and resources for schoolchildren in Alabama. According to the AG's office, Alabama will receive $12.2 million to fund school resource officers statewide.

This is all part of the Attorney General's "Safe School Initiative". Marshall said he would no longer "turn a blind eye to the exploitation of children and expect to avoid consequences".

As part of this agreement with Roblox, all users must undergo age verification to ensure children have access to age-appropriate content. Roblox is also committing to using facial age estimation technology and government-issued ID for age confirmation. The platform will also use behavioral monitoring to identify users who may have been aged incorrectly.

The settlement also explicitly addresses privacy concerns related to age verification. Parents will also have expanded control over their children's use of the platform under the agreement. Roblox will not allow communication involving minors to be encrypted under this new agreement.

Alabama's settlement is significant because it is one of the first in the nation reached with Roblox and the result of months of negotiations.