Report from NL Times
In Brief – The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has launched a formal Digital Services Act (DSA) investigation of Roblox over concerns that the online gaming platform may not be doing enough to protect children. The DSA requires platforms to take appropriate measures to safeguard minors’ privacy, safety, and security. The regulator said it has received multiple reports about risks faced by minors on the platform, including allegations that it has been used for child sexual grooming and that the platform employs “dark patterns” that may improperly encourage children to make in-game purchases. The ACM investigation is being undertaken under its authority as the country’s Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) which has lead DSA enforcement authority for digital platforms based in the Netherlands.
Context – The DSA regulates how digital platforms address objectionable material, imposing the strictest duties on the largest platforms, those with 45 million monthly active users in the EU, which are designated as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs). The European Commission is the lead DSA enforcer for the VLOPs, which now number 25, with six active investigations covering 13 platforms, including X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Temu. DSA oversight of other platforms is led by the Digital Services Coordinator where a platform is based. Roblox claims 38 million monthly active users in Europe and its EU establishment is in the Netherlands. In the face of harsh criticism, Roblox launched several safety measures last year, including barring users under the age of 13 from sending direct messages and announcing technical age verification to back up their age-based rules. The Roblox age verification processes reportedly have had a somewhat rocky roll-out. Several US State Attorneys General have filed civil lawsuits against the company for harming young users, while online safety regulators in Australia and the UK have directed the company to employ technical age verification in those countries.