The Albanese Government welcomes efforts by Roblox to strengthen protections for young users in Australia and around the globe.
Minister for Communications Anika Wells put Roblox on notice amid serious reports of child safety risks, meeting with co-founder and CEO, David Baszucki, in Brisbane in February.
Following this meeting, Roblox has announced it will introduce a suite of safety improvements for under-16s, to be rolled out globally from mid-year.
These changes seek to prevent young children from being exposed to inappropriate or harmful content and from predators by limiting chats and hangouts. Parents will have more control and visibility of which games their kids are playing and who they are talking to.
Australia's independent regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, will monitor the effect of these changes and continue to examine Roblox's compliance with its obligations under the Online Safety Act and relevant industry codes and standards.
This week the Government will also issue its response to the Online Safety Act review, which will ensure Australia's laws remain adaptable and fit for purpose amid emerging online harms. This will include legislating a Digital Duty of Care.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, Anika Wells:
"The Albanese Government has shown we will not sit idly by while kids are being exposed to harmful and graphic content on online platforms.
"We made it clear to Roblox that something had to be done - and I welcome these steps towards stronger safety measures on their platform for under-16s, not just in Australia, but globally.
"Kids should be able to play their favourite games without being exposed to harmful content.
"We will closely watch the rollout of Roblox's changes to make sure they create a meaningful difference to the experience of young Australians on their platforms.
"The next step in the Albanese Government's online safety mission is to legislate a Digital Duty of Care, which will ensure these kinds of proactive safety protections for young Australians become the norm, not the exception."
