Australia Safety Regulator Prompts Roblox to Commit to Strict New Child Protection Rules

Gaming and virtual universe platform Roblox has committed to implementing strict new safety mechanisms in Australia after the nation's internet safety watchdog identified ongoing security risks for young users on the service. The regulatory compliance investigation was first reported by The Verge.

According to assessment details released by Australia's online safety regulator, eSafety, recent platform testing demonstrated that Roblox was not fully adhering to the requirements of the country's Online Safety Act. The agency reported that despite previous safety modifications introduced by the company, the platform continued to leave children vulnerable to interaction with unknown adults.

The regulator outlined several critical gaps in Roblox's protections for users under 16 years of age. Testing revealed that adults were capable of sending connection requests directly to young Australian children without obtaining consent from a parent or caregiver. Furthermore, the agency found that adults and children could freely view and respond to public forum posts located outside of actual game experiences without adult oversight.

The investigation also highlighted significant profile privacy vulnerabilities across the platform. An individual's connections list was publicly viewable by any user on Roblox. Additionally, children's profiles—which display biographical information, user handles, avatars, personal interests, and friend lists—were visible platform-wide by default, with no options provided to restrict or hide that data.

While Roblox informed eSafety that it believes its platform complies with all obligations under Australia's Online Safety Act, the company agreed to execute a series of mandatory system updates to address the watchdog's findings.

Under the proposed commitments, Roblox will automatically set accounts belonging to children to private by default and block adults from contacting unfamiliar young users unless explicit parental approval is granted. The company will also introduce accessible reporting mechanisms that explicitly notify users regarding the outcome of filed complaints, and it will hire an independent third-party auditing firm to review its safety infrastructure, including its age-estimation technology.

The regulatory pressure in Australia aligns with broader international scrutiny surrounding the company's trust and safety policies. In the United States, Roblox is currently the subject of an investigation by a U.S. Senate subcommittee and faces legal actions from multiple state attorneys general over child safety claims, though some of those state lawsuits have reached settlements. In response to these ongoing concerns, Roblox launched two new user account designations earlier this year designed to restrict specific chat functions and limit access to age-inappropriate games.