Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced a settlement with Roblox that she said will require changes aimed at protecting children and teens online.
According to Fitch, the agreement includes blocking adult interaction with teens and children, age verification and parental consent requirements, no nighttime notifications and access to only age-appropriate content.
“Big Tech put their profits ahead of our children’s physical safety and mental wellbeing,” Fitch said. “That’s unacceptable and we will continue to hold them accountable.”
Fitch said the settlement will also give parents expanded control over their children’s use of the platform. Those controls include the ability to restrict who children talk to, how long they are online, what games they can access and the transfer of in-game currency known as Robux.
The attorney general’s office said default settings will not allow personalized advertising or push notifications without parental consent.
The agreement also includes heightened standards to detect grooming behavior, predatory conduct and suspicious communication patterns involving minors.
According to Fitch’s office, Roblox will also continue to not allow communications involving minors to be encrypted. Officials said that allows law enforcement to better combat child exploitation networks, trafficking and the distribution of illegal and harmful content.
Roblox will also hire an in-state law enforcement liaison to give the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and other law enforcement real-time or near-real-time access around the clock.
The settlement includes $9 million to help fund digital literacy education and a parental empowerment and education program.
The agreement also includes $5 million in liquidated damages to help ensure Roblox complies with the terms of the settlement.
“With this settlement, Mississippi is raising the bar on what we expect from these companies,” Fitch said.
