Updates to Our Maturity & Compliance Questionnaire

Updates Announcements
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[Update] August 11, 2025

[Update] August 4, 2025

Hi Creators,

We’re introducing a new parental control to give parents additional tools to shape their child’s experience on Roblox. Our goal is to help parents decide what content is right for their family, especially for subjects that may require adult guidance.

To enable this we’ve added a new “Sensitive Issues” content descriptor for experiences that are primarily themed on current sensitive social, political, or religious issues. This descriptor is not meant to take a stance on any specific issue.

We anticipate very few experiences will receive this label.

Starting August 11, 2025, a new question will be available in the Maturity & Compliance Questionnaire. If your experience is identified as primarily themed on a sensitive issue, it will receive the new descriptor on its details page and will be unavailable by default for users under 13. Parents can choose to enable access if they wish.

Navigate to:

Creator Hub > Creations > Select an experience > Audience > Maturity & Compliance Questionnaire

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This new descriptor does not change your experience’s existing Content Maturity label (e.g., Minimal, Mild, Moderate, Restricted).

Criteria for Sensitive Issues

Sensitive issues are defined as any current sensitive social, political, or religious issue that meets both of the following criteria:

  • Polarized Viewpoints: Does the issue have a limited number of strongly opposing viewpoints, with little room for compromise or middle ground?
  • Strong Emotional Response: Does the issue evoke strong emotional reactions and/or passionate debate?

For example, issues such as immigration, capital punishment, gun control, marriage equality, pay equity in sports, prayer in schools, racial profiling, affirmative action, vaccination policies, and reproductive rights qualify as “sensitive issues”. Please note that this is not a comprehensive or finite list - any issue that meets the above criteria qualifies as a “sensitive issue.” These issues are topics that are frequently in the news and inspire strong opinions and emotional debate.

We understand that what is sensitive varies in different countries; for more information on how this applies to our global community, see our FAQ below.

Criteria for the Sensitive Issues Descriptor

This descriptor applies to experiences where a majority of the content, gameplay, or experience details (such as thumbnail, title, description, or tags) refers to the sensitive issue. For example, an experience with a core gameplay loop focusing on immigration or border security would qualify, but one that simply includes references to countries and borders would not. Both experiences in this example are still covered by the content maturity guidelines, and would still be subject to our Community Standards, Terms of Use, and other policies. If the experience details refer to a sensitive issue, but the majority of the content does not focus on that issue, we will ask you to update the title to more accurately reflect the content within the experience and to avoid this descriptor being applied. Note also that individual assets, groups, communities, as well as text and voice chat, do not qualify for this descriptor; only experiences that are primarily themed or centered on one of these issues can receive the “Sensitive Issues” descriptor.

Why We’re Implementing This Descriptor Now

We’re rolling out this new descriptor as part of our ongoing effort to improve our parental control tools, giving parents the choice of how and when their children engage with different kinds of content on Roblox. As an online platform featuring user-generated content, we can’t always guarantee that these complex issues will be presented in a developmentally appropriate way for younger users, or that the conversations within the experiences will be handled with the proper care. In the real world, these issues would be presented by trusted adults like parents and teachers in ways that are appropriate for their kids. We believe that parents know their kids best, and they can make the most informed decisions about when each child is ready for more complex topics and subjects. As children mature, they are more able to make informed choices about what they engage with, to better understand complex issues, and to form their own opinions.

Additionally, just as these issues are treated differently by different families, they’re also handled in diverse ways by different cultures, countries, and governments. As we continue to enhance our parental control and content insights systems, we want to be proactive in addressing potential global regulatory concerns. Our goal is to lead the industry and create a system that seamlessly scales compliance for our global community of creators.

What This Descriptor Is Not

This descriptor is not intended to take a stance on any sensitive issue. We respect diverse perspectives on our platform and understand that sensitive issues are often deeply tied to individuals’ core identities.

Experiences that fall under this descriptor will not be suspended or removed from the platform. Consistent with our announcement last month, the only instances where consequences would apply are for creators who repeatedly provide inaccurate information in the questionnaire to avoid the content descriptor being applied.

How Moderation Will Work

We understand that identifying sensitive issues can be complex and vary greatly by region. For this reason, if our moderation teams find an experience has not accurately disclosed sensitive issues via the Maturity & Compliance Questionnaire, we will reach out to you to correct your questionnaire answers.

If your experience receives a sensitive issues descriptor and you would like to appeal, you can follow these instructions here. For a list of non-exhaustive issues, please see the FAQ section.

We’re committed to making this transition as smooth as possible and will continue to refine our processes based on your feedback. We know that adapting to new guidelines can take time, and our goal is always to equip parents with the best tools to manage their children’s experiences while still allowing creators to innovate and express themselves.

FAQs

Are you doing this as a response to the current US political administration or any other specific regulatory requirement?

  • No. This change is not a response to any specific regulatory requirement or governmental request.

Why is Roblox using a parental control on experiences with sensitive issues for users under 13?

  • We’re not taking a stance on whether these issues are inherently inappropriate for children. Instead, we recognize that topics like social, political, and religious issues can be handled in a way that is developmentally appropriate. However, as an online platform with a vast amount of user-generated content, we can’t always guarantee that this will be the case.

    Our goal is to empower parents to decide how and when their children engage with these complex subjects. We believe that parents know their children best and are in the best position to make informed choices about what content is right for their family. This new control gives them the choice to enable access when they feel it’s appropriate.

Can developers update the questionnaire or do they need to completely fill out the questionnaire again?

  • Developers will need to click through the whole questionnaire when they update their answers to new questions, but their previous answers will be auto-populated. We understand that this is frustrating, and are working on updating our systems to streamline the process in the future.

Can you share what issues currently meet the criteria for a sensitive issue?

  • Due to their evolving nature and variations across different locations and contexts, we can’t offer a fixed or finite list of sensitive issues. However, examples include topics such as immigration, capital punishment, gun control, marriage equality, pay equity in sports, prayer in schools, racial profiling, affirmative action, vaccination policies, and reproductive rights.

    We’ll continually assess what qualifies as a sensitive issue based on our established criteria. We understand that not having an exhaustive list might make it challenging for Creators to navigate. To account for this, we’ll partner with Developers to correct any inaccurate answers and work with Developers to get their Experiences correctly rated.

Is Roblox taking a stance on these issues with this descriptor?

  • No. This descriptor is not meant to take a stand on any particular issue. Our Community Standards still apply to all content - including prohibiting Discrimination. Content that promotes abuse, discrimination, or harm against people due to their membership in a protected category group is prohibited.

Why is Roblox blocking access to experiences with a “Sensitive Issues” descriptor for users under 13 by default?

  • Just as parents and guardians navigate sensitive conversations offline, we believe they are the best guides for their children online. That’s why we block these experiences by default, empowering parents to make an informed choice to enable them when they feel it’s appropriate.

Aren’t the issues that meet the criteria different depending on where you are in the world?

  • Yes, what qualifies as a sensitive issue can definitely vary based on your location and cultural context. That’s why we rely on your insight and ask you to answer the questionnaire to the best of your ability, using your local perspective. Your understanding helps us ensure our policies are effective and appropriate globally. If our moderation team identifies an area where an adjustment is needed, they’ll reach out to guide you through the correction process. We’re committed to working with you to get it right.

Can parents decide which issues they want to turn off/on for their kids?

  • Not at this time. Parents who want more granular control can turn off the sensitive issues control and can instead individually block experiences to manage which experiences their kids can play. Parents also have visibility into which experiences their kids are playing, and can focus on blocking experiences their kids are spending time in.

What if the title of my game refers to a sensitive issue, but the issue is not the primary theme of the experience?

  • If your title, thumbnail, tags, or experience description focuses on a sensitive issue, but the content within your experience is not primarily themed on that issue, we will ask that you change the content on your experience details page to more accurately reflect the content within your experience. (Please see our policy for misleading content here).

What about limited time events - including within my experience?

  • Limited time events - such as a holiday event, a protest, or a parade - within a larger experience do not need to be labeled with the sensitive issues descriptor because the primary theme of the entire experience is not about that issue. For example Christmas, Easter, or Halloween events would not qualify an experience as containing a sensitive issue.
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This topic was automatically opened after 10 minutes.

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I imagine I’m going to have an essay to write about this later as I’m busy right now but.. what the hell? I really do not like the precedent this sets. Right now it’s being used for issues like gun control, religion in schools and… vaccines, which are not a debate(???). But what’s to stop this from turning into a policy that moderates the platform similarly to how China moderates its games? What’s to stop Roblox from considering “depictions of ghosts” a “sensitive issue”? What stops this from moderating “depictions of dethroning an emperor”?

This policy is extremely dystopian and is very concerning with regards to the erosion of freedoms, namely the freedom of speech / the freedom of expression.

EDIT : I’ve made a post highlighting the problems with this new policy, and asking for it to be changed! Go give it a read & support here :

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Added a pride flag in the game? Believe it or not, straight to the 17+ category!

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Can the earth be round in our experiences or is that a sensitive issue that may offend the flat earth community?

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This is really tough news to me. I was just about to make a game primarily focused on pay equity in sports. :frowning:

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You know the change has to be “good” when it’s the Roblox account making the post instead of Roblox employee

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Have to say this change worries me with the recent wave of sweeping web censorship from the current administration, as well as global pushes against game retailers. Puts a bit of a pit in my stomach knowing where policies like this have the potential to head. Some of the examples used in the post are pretty strange, and make me worry about potential misuses of this system by censorship groups.

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I think you’re misconstruing what’s being done here. The experiences in question are not being moderated, they’re very clear about that in the post. They are simply receiving a content descriptor that says the game may contain content on a sensitive topic that is heavily biased or sensitive. This is so that parents can have greater control in something like “yeah I don’t want my 9 year old kid to be playing games on highly polarized political topics.” That’s an absolute W. If you’re okay with your kids doing that, then great, let them. They’re free to do so. If not, now you can turn it off.

Roblox is also not picking and choosing which experiences get this label. It’s primarily determined by self-reporting through the questionnaire, and only retroactively applied by Roblox if the experience is identified as a problem. I don’t expect we’ll have a major issue there. I understand your skepticism, but I have confidence based on my experience thus far.

Also, vaccines are a debate within the US at the moment. That’s an objective fact. People feel strongly about the topic and therefore it’s a perfectly viable candidate for this label, given that the experience’s content is heavily biased towards one side of the discussion, or only presents extreme viewpoints. According to this post, an experience that discusses vaccines but is neutral on the topic would not have this label applied.

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The UK’s Online Child Safety Act has ignited a wave of dystopian measures across the digital world. It deserves nothing less than shame.

Under its shadow, platforms like Roblox could arbitrarily brand a harmless rainbow particle effect from Nyan Cat as an “LGBT issue,” and restrict a simple obby for children behind a 17+ label. Such overreach is not protection — it is censorship in its most absurd form.

Let me be clear: the United Kingdom is in distress. The nation I hold dear has become the architect of this mass intrusion on privacy, and inevitably, words such as these uttered in my game would be targeted and suppressed.

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It’s a shame that I must resort to expressing my political outcry on a platform made for children and teenagers, however if this is what it takes to do my part in fighting for my right to privacy, and that of others, I must do it.

May freedom reign, and all those who oppose it fall.

EDIT: Rewrite, grammar fixes

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This could get messy.

We have 7 days to comply with… sensitive topics? It would be nice if we got a list of sensitive topics.

Maybe you can train that AI assistant to say what is and what isn’t a sensitive topic?

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that’s maybe not such a great idea

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They are being restricted to players 13 and under. It is reasonable to say that is an act of moderation.

Where do we draw the line? Where does it stop? The earth being round is a polarized debated topic, are we going to sensor depictions of round planets to children next? This is not a W, this is a mechanism to sensor whatever doesn’t align with the narrative the powers that be are pushing. This is one of many efforts to erode the sciences and our ability to speak / express freely.

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It surprises me how many people seem to be misinterpreting this post. It’s not changing what’s allowed on Roblox, just adding more specifications for age ratings (at least, that’s the impact it’s having right now). Because this is meant to strengthen parental controls, I could see a lot of people getting frustrated that it’s being released before parents can even utilize it. So we’ll end up with children who’s parents are fully on board with them playing a game that incorporates a sensitive issue, and yet they have no method of actually allowing them to play. It could lead to even more accounts getting age verified through a parent’s ID (which is a HUGE problem that the platform is already facing)

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What exactly is this trying to do? Telling people that a game has sensitive material doesn’t make sense when a lot of online people are simply desensitized to everything

I also feel like it’d be a good idea to abort the dating update, and to hire more staff

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I understand the reasoning for this, but putting everything under a blanket “sensitive issues” term is not the right way to do it, you should be more granular and specifically add controls to block politics and religion which are essentially universal hot topics, and then other sensitive issues. Parents are going to balk at the description of this parental control including religion and politics when all they want to do is let their LGBTQ+ children play related hangout games.

Do better?

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Banning content from certain groups disincentivizes that content to continue to exist on the platform, call it what it is, a ban.

Certain content banned here heavily influenced the path I took in life. If this had been implemented a decade ago, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Do better Roblox.

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How exactly is age gating a game for including something like a pride flag not taking a stance on a “sensitive issue”?

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I gotta say, all this seems like preparation for Roblox China re-launch.

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There is no world, especially with current US politics, and the awful social climate surrounding it, in which this isn’t dangerous policy. The poorly hidden politics behind this policy cannot be ignored, this isn’t happening in a bubble. It’s not right to think of Roblox as unique in this policy when it follows in lockstep with what other US platforms have implemented “to start”.

This policy feels more like kowtowing and self preservation. It feels like a veiled attempt at censorship, not any kind of real policy for protecting people, or enabling people to better protect themselves.

When the fascists make the next rounds and arrive at “our” door, they’ll be quite pleased to see the red carpet already rolled out. Shame.

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