Australia says Roblox hasn’t fixed its child predator problem
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has found that Roblox, the popular user-generated content gaming platform, has failed to adequately address child safety concerns, despite previous improvements. Testing conducted by Australia’s online safety regulator identified ongoing issues with the platform’s mechanisms to prevent contact between adults and children under 16, which violates requirements of Australia’s Online Safety Act.
The testing revealed that despite implementing new safety measures, Roblox “continued to put children at risk” according to eSafety’s assessment. The regulator has been investigating whether the company maintains sufficient protections against predatory contact and grooming risks on its platform, which hosts millions of users globally and is particularly popular with children.
Following the testing results, Roblox has committed to implementing additional changes to its child protection systems. However, the regulator’s findings suggest that previous remediation efforts have been insufficient in addressing fundamental gaps in the platform’s safety architecture. This compliance issue comes as regulators worldwide increasingly scrutinize online platforms’ child safety practices and enforcement mechanisms.
The matter raises broader questions about platform accountability and the effectiveness of self-regulated safety measures versus regulatory oversight in protecting minors from online exploitation.