Australian Government Demands Urgent Meeting With Roblox Over Child Safety Concerns

The Australian government has raised grave concerns with Roblox after reports of child grooming and harmful content surfaced on the platform.

Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed she has written to the U.S.-listed company requesting an "urgent meeting."

She described the situation as “untenable” and highlighted disturbing reports of children being exposed to sexually explicit and suicidal material. Wells also warned about predators exploiting young players’ curiosity and innocence.

"The reports we've been hearing about children being exposed to graphic and gratuitous user-generated content on the platform, including sexually explicit and suicidal material. 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. This is untenable, and these issues are of deep concern to many Australians parents and carers."

Minister Wells' letter also referenced recent criminal cases that have heightened concerns. A Queensland man was charged with allegedly grooming 596 children across multiple platforms, including Roblox, Fortnite, and Snapchat.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has also stepped in. She stated, “We remain highly concerned by ongoing reports regarding the exploitation of children on the Roblox service, and exposure to harmful material.”

Her office plans to test Roblox’s safety features, including age-based restrictions and chat limitations. If the platform fails to comply with child protection laws, it could face fines of up to A$49.5 million under the Online Safety Act.

The platform has been adding safety features over the past year. In November 2024, Roblox introduced protections preventing children under 13 from accessing direct messaging in platform chats. The company also limited what messages younger users could broadcast in games and experiences. More recently, Roblox began globally enforcing age verification requirements for users who want to access chat features.

A Roblox spokesperson responded to the concerns in a statement to GI.BIZ, saying the company remains committed to user safety. They highlighted recent implementations like age-checking systems and noted they're working with Australian law enforcement. "We look forward to the opportunity to inform the minister of the steps we take to help keep our community safe. Roblox has robust safety policies and processes to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms, and advanced safeguards that monitor for harmful content and communications," the spokesperson said.

However, they acknowledged that no system is perfect. "While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to strengthen protections to help keep users safe," they added.