Roblox Faces Child Safety Action in Australia
Australia's internet regulator has obtained a legally binding agreement from Roblox to enhance safeguards against grooming and sexual exploitation, following tests that revealed adult strangers could still reach out to children despite safety protocols implemented by the largest gaming platform globally.
The accord represents a gradual victory for the eSafety Commissioner, which aims to utilize its enforcement authority to ensure online platforms adhere to Australia's extensive child-safety regulations, including a significant prohibition on social media for individuals under 16.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the eSafety Commissioner indicated that its testing revealed adults could send friend requests to young Australian children on Roblox without needing parental permission, and that children and adults could engage on forums outside of games without parental consent.
Other users could also see children's connections, profiles, and additional information.
The regulator allowed Roblox three months to implement measures such as preventing adults from contacting unfamiliar children without parental consent, setting children's accounts to private by default, and enhancing systems for complaint reporting and user notification of outcomes.
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The company based in San Mateo, California is required to engage an independent third-party auditor to evaluate the efficiency of its safety protocols, which encompass its age-estimation technology.
eSafety stated that this was the initial occasion it mandated an external safety assessment by a technology company.
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"Roblox is unable to evaluate their own assignments," stated eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.
Should Roblox violate the commitment, eSafety may petition the Federal Court for an order mandating the company to comply, in addition to pursuing other orders, the regulator stated.
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This isn’t the first occasion Roblox has caught the attention of Australia's internet regulator, as eSafety issued a statement earlier this year indicating it had placed the gaming platform "on notice" regarding child safety.