Australia’s digital regulator said it’s testing Roblox Corp’s compliance with its own commitments to keep kids safe as concerns grow about potential child grooming and sexual exploitation on the platform.
"We remain highly concerned by ongoing reports regarding the exploitation of children on the Roblox service and exposure to harmful material,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement late Monday.
Beyond the regulator’s usual monitoring, it will specifically test Roblox’s implementation of nine safety commitments it made last year, including introducing tools to stop adults contacting users aged under 16 without parental consent. Inman Grant said she wants "first-hand insights into this compliance.”
Roblox is under increasing scrutiny around the world as governments attempt to reduce online harm to children. In the case of non-compliance, eSafety can seek penalties of as much as A$49.5mil (RM136.89mil or US$35mil) against the company.
In Australia, Imman Grant last week blasted major technology companies including Meta Platforms Inc, Apple Inc and Google for failing to stamp out child sexual exploitation and abuse on their services, even after repeated calls to address shortfalls. The country late last year also enacted a world-first social media ban for under-16s. – Bloomberg
