Australia's eSafety office has formally requested that Roblox, Microsoft, Epic, and Valve provide detailed explanations of how their platforms are preventing child grooming and the spread of extremist content. Established in 2015 as an independent agency to tackle youth cyberbullying and the online distribution of child sexual abuse material, eSafety has since broadened its mandate to protect all Australians from various online threats.
In a recent announcement, eSafety issued legally enforceable transparency notices to these companies, citing ongoing concerns that platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Steam are being exploited by sexual predators to groom children and by extremist groups to disseminate violent propaganda and radicalize young people.
"We often observe that after offenders connect with children in online gaming environments, they move the conversations to private messaging services," stated eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant in a published statement. "Gaming platforms are among the most popular online spaces for Australian children, serving not just as venues for play but also as social hubs for communication. Our research indicates that approximately 90% of children aged 8 to 17 in Australia have engaged in online gaming."
Inman Grant emphasized that predatory adults are acutely aware of this trend and "target children through grooming or by embedding terrorist and violent extremist narratives into gameplay." She referenced "numerous media reports" detailing grooming incidents on all four platforms, as well as gameplay featuring terrorist and violent extremist themes.
Examples highlighted include "Islamic State-inspired games and recreations of mass shootings on Roblox, along with far-right groups creating fascist imagery in Minecraft," plus Fortnite games based on World War II concentration camps and events like the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot. Inman Grant added that "Steam is reportedly a hub for a number of extreme-right communities," though no specific examples were provided. Valve has previously faced scrutiny for hosting "tens of thousands of groups" that promote Nazi and other hate-based content.
"These online gaming and related platforms are used by millions of children, making it imperative that they implement every possible measure to protect users and continuously enhance safeguards," Inman Grant asserted.
eSafety notes that compliance with transparency reporting notices is mandatory, with penalties of up to AUD$825,000 per day for companies that fail to respond.
In a response to IGN, Roblox outlined several current safety measures. "We welcome engagement with eSafety on this critical issue," a company spokesperson said. "Roblox enforces strict policies against content or behavior that incites, condones, supports, glorifies, or promotes any terrorist or extremist organization or individual. We promptly remove such content and take immediate action at the account level when detected. Advanced AI technology is used to review all images, text, and avatar items before publication to prevent known extremist iconography from appearing. We encourage users to report any concerning content, and our team regularly collaborates with law enforcement, civil society groups, and other experts in countering violent extremism.
"Last week, we announced that Roblox will soon introduce new age-based accounts for children under 16, aligning content access, communication settings, and parental controls with users' ages. While no system is flawless, our commitment to safety is unwavering, and we will continue to work closely with eSafety to keep Australian children safe."
