South Dakota’s Roblox deal ties age checks to child-safety funds

A state settlement aimed at the chat window

South Dakota officials announced a Roblox agreement Monday that state leaders say could be worth up to $15 million, pairing new platform safeguards with money for education, law enforcement and consumer protection work.kotatv The guaranteed payments are described as $9.6 million over four years, with another $5.4 million available if Roblox fails to meet the deal’s provisions.sd +1

Attorney General Marty Jackley framed the case as a child-protection settlement rather than a response to a South Dakota prosecution. He said the state has not filed a Roblox-related child exploitation case, but argued the measures are meant to prevent one as attorneys general around the country scrutinize gaming platforms used heavily by minors.sd

Verification and parental controls move to the center

The agreement requires Roblox to verify ages for users through tools including facial age estimation and government-issued identification, while also using behavioral monitoring to detect accounts that may be mis-aged.kotatv +1 State officials say the goal is to keep children in age-appropriate spaces and make it harder for adults to pose as minors or contact them without oversight.sd

The chat rules are among the most concrete changes. Adults and users under 16 will be blocked from chatting unless they are designated as trusted friends, and users under 13 will need parental consent for that status.kotatv +1 Parents are also slated to get broader controls over whom children communicate with, what experiences they access and whether adults outside trusted connections can transfer Robux to minors.southdakotasearchlight

Settlement money is steered toward enforcement and after-school programs

The first year of funding sends $2.6 million to South Dakota’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and $1 million toward a two-year public service campaign on online safety.kotatv The Department of Education is set to receive $2.5 million in each of years two and three, with 20% of those payments reserved for government and nonprofit after-school programs.sd

Education officials cast the after-school funding as part of the safety strategy, saying those hours can leave children online without close supervision.sd The final scheduled payment is $1 million for the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Fund, which officials said will support future investigations and enforcement against companies that violate consumer laws.kotatv +1

A template other states may test

South Dakota is not acting alone: local reporting says it is one of five states that have reached settlements with Roblox, while other states are pursuing related cases.sd +1 The agreement includes a “most favored nation” clause, giving South Dakota access to stronger terms Roblox may later grant another state.kotatv

The provision turns a state-level deal into a moving benchmark for platform accountability. If future settlements demand tougher protections or better monetary terms, South Dakota can claim those improvements too, keeping pressure on Roblox as regulators debate how far age checks, parental controls and law-enforcement access should go on child-heavy platforms.sd