Roblox, a gaming platform popular with children, announced on Thursday that users under 16 in Indonesia must undergo facial scans to verify their age. This move complies with new government restrictions on minors' access to social media and digital platforms.
Strictest Measures Globally
Nicky Jackson Colaco, Roblox’s vice president and global head of public policy, unveiled the changes during a press conference in Jakarta. She described these measures as among the strictest the company has implemented anywhere in the world.
The platform has introduced tailored, age-based accounts in Indonesia: Roblox Kids for ages 5 to 12, which has no chat features, and Roblox Select for ages 13 to 15, where chat is limited to parents or approved family and friends.
Automatic Transition for 23 Million Accounts
The rollout involves automatically transitioning the 23 million accounts identified as belonging to users under 16 by implementing age verification through facial scanning. “Any user in Indonesia who has not used that tool, who has no facial age estimated, will be automatically placed in a Roblox Kids account and will not have access to chat,” Jackson Colaco said.
The age verification tool requires players to take a video selfie that estimates their age. Jackson Colaco assured that the data is immediately deleted. “We don't keep anything,” she stated.
Government Involvement
Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid revealed that Roblox has approximately 45 million users in Indonesia, with about 23 million being children. Roblox is the only gaming platform classified as high-risk by the Indonesian government, and its access restrictions for children differ from those of other social media platforms.
In addition to account categories and interaction limits based on age, Roblox will categorize games by age suitability. Government regulations have prompted Roblox to impose screen time limits to reduce children’s addiction to the platform. “To address concerns about addiction, screen time limits are now in place. Parents can set specific times or hours for their children to play games,” Hafid said.
Broader Regulatory Context
Indonesia began implementing a new regulation at the end of March that bans children under 16 from accessing digital platforms that could expose them to addiction, pornography, online scams, and cyberbullying. Seven of the eight platforms classified as high-risk—including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and Bigo Live—have committed to restricting children’s access. The Indonesian government is urging these companies to report the number of suspended accounts as part of the regulation's enforcement.
