After its teen social media ban, Australia is swooping on Roblox following 'ongoing concerns about online child grooming'
When Australia implemented a social media ban for under-16 children last year, gaming platforms with social elements, ranging from Steam to Roblox, evaded the restrictions. But possibly not for long: Australian communications minister Anika Wells and the Australian eSafety commissioner's office have both written to Roblox expressing concern over "graphic and gratuitous user-generated content".
Wells has called on Roblox to explain how it's combatting child exploitation and self-harm material, and called for the Australian Classification Board to review its PG rating. Meanwhile, eSafety has also advised Roblox of its "intention to directly test the platform's implementation and effectiveness of the nine safety commitments it made to Australia's online safety regulator last year."
In September last year Roblox agreed to nine commitments to comply with Australia's Online Safety Act. These included private accounts for under 16s, and the prohibition of voice chat for 13-15 year olds (it was already prohibited by Roblox for under 13s). Roblox said in late 2025 that it had complied with all nine commitments, some of which have been implemented globally, like now-mandatory facial age checks to access chat features. Evidently, eSafety isn't satisfied.
“We remain highly concerned by ongoing reports regarding the exploitation of children on the Roblox service, and exposure to harmful material,” eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a media statement. Grant added that, in addition to "ongoing compliance monitoring", eSafety will "directly [test] the implementation of its commitments so that we have first-hand insights into this compliance".
Depending on the outcome of this testing, Roblox could face fines of up to AU$49.5 million.
In her own letter, Wells acknowledged ongoing media coverage of Roblox alleging that children are still accessing explicit content on the platform. She is seeking an "urgent meeting" with the company.
"I am alarmed by reports of children being exposed to graphic and gratuitous user-generated content on the platform, including sexually explicit and suicidal material," Wells wrote in an excerpt from her letter seen by PC Gamer. "Even more disturbing are ongoing reports and concerns about children being approached and groomed by predators, who actively seek to exploit their curiosity and innocence."
According to 7News, a Queensland man was accused last week of using Roblox and Fortnite to "groom and coerce" hundreds of children.
Florida attorney general James Uthmeier announced a criminal investigation into Roblox in October, accusing it of failing to protect children from predators and explicit content. In November, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said that "'Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks."