Attorney General Jackley Announces $15 Million Settlement With Interactive Gaming Platform Roblox
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that South Dakota has reached a $15 million settlement with Roblox, an immersive gaming and creation platform. The settlement will be used to protect children from online threats and enhance the state’s educational system.
“This settlement is about protecting our kids,” said Attorney General Jackley. “South Dakota is establishing a national standard for platforms to protect kids and work with law enforcement to help parents. It improves on-line security and provides funds to those state agencies involved in protection and education.”
The proceeds from this settlement will go to:
*** Year One – $2.6 million to fund South Dakota’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which is part of the Attorney General’s Office.
*** Year One – $1 million, to be divided into $500,000 for a two-year period, to create a PSA campaign on online child safety, including specific references to interacting with Roblox safely, designed to reach a South Dakota audience.
*** Year Two – $2.5 million to fund the South Dakota Department of Education, with 20 percent of the payment allocated for funding governmental and nonprofit after-school programs.
*** Year Three – $2.5 million to fund the South Dakota Department of Education, with 20 percent of the payment allocated for funding governmental and nonprofit after-school programs.
*** Year Four – $1 million to fund the South Dakota Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Fund, which will fund future investigation and litigation against companies that violate our consumer protection laws.
South Dakota could also receive up to another $5.4 million in damages if Roblox fails to meet any of the agreement provisions.
“Keeping South Dakota safe isn’t limited to our streets. It extends to our digital world where our children spend more time than ever before,” said Gov. Larry Rhoden. “I am grateful for Attorney General Jackley’s leadership on this issue. We will continue to work together to build a safer South Dakota.”
As part of the agreement, Roblox will underwrite a two-year multi-media PSA campaign valued at $1 million. The campaign will focus on online child safety, including specific references to interacting with Roblox safely, designed to reach a South Dakota audience. South Dakota may suggest local organizations to be considered as partners in the campaign.
Roblox will require all users to undergo age verification to ensure children have access only to age-appropriate content on the platform. Roblox has committed to using facial age estimation technology and government- issued ID for age confirmation and will 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. The expansion of parental controls allows parents to decide who their children are talking to and the games they are playing on the platform as well as restrict the transfer of in-game currency (Robux) from adults other than trusted connections. In the absence of a parent account, the default content mode provides protections to minor users.
Adult users and users under 16 will not be able to chat unless they are identified as a “trusted friend” on the platform. Trusted friends for users under 13 require parental consent. Unless a parent elects otherwise, users between 13 and 15 years old may add trusted friends through a QR code or phone contact importer.
Under the agreement, Roblox will not allow communication involving minors to be encrypted. Unencrypted communication allows law enforcement to be able to more easily combat child exploitation networks, trafficking, and the distribution of illegal and harmful content.
South Dakota is one of several states to secure agreements with Roblox. The ‘most favored nation’ clause included in the agreement ensures that South Dakota is entitled to any improved terms that are later agreed to by Roblox and any other state.
The agreement is attached: https://atg.sd.gov/docs/Roblox%20SD%20-%20AVC.pdf
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