Australia says platforms like Steam and Roblox have 'significant' child safety gaps
Australia's eSafety Commission has identified significant gaps in the child safety measures of major gaming platforms including Steam, Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft. The report highlights inconsistent approaches to age verification and content moderation, noting that some platforms lack proactive tools to detect harmful material or predatory behavior. Regulators are urging these companies to improve their safety protocols to better protect young users from exploitation and violence.
- ▪Nine out of ten Australian children aged 8 to 17 play online games, yet the eSafety Commission found significant gaps in how platforms protect them.
- ▪Valve, the owner of Steam, was the only provider not using industry-standard technology to detect and remove known harmful content.
- ▪Minecraft and Fortnite rely on self-declared age verification, which allows users to bypass restrictions on higher-risk communication features.
- ▪Valve did not share industry expertise on combating child sexual exploitation, and Epic Games failed to share breach information under a global safety program.
- ▪The report covers data collected between October 2025 and March 2026 regarding how these platforms handle serious online harms.
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| Original publisher | BBC News — World |
| Canonical URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjvgygzzy6lro?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss |
| Publication time | Fri, 02 Oct 2026 02:29:41 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-02T03:00:44.552Z |
| Last seen | 2026-10-02T03:00:44.552Z |
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Australia says platforms like Steam and Roblox have 'significant' child safety gapsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant says gaming platforms must "lift their game" on child safetyByLana LamSydneyPublished2 October 2026, 03:07 BSTUpdated 30 minutes agoAustralia's online safety regulator has found "significant gaps" in how popular gaming platforms protect children online.In a new report it found inconsistent approaches in how Steam, Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft implement child safety measures as research shows nine out of 10 children aged 8 to 17 in Australia have played online games."Australian children have a right to play online without being exposed to predators, sexual extortionists, violent extremist content or other harmful material,"…
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