Roblox commits to privacy overhaul after eSafety discovers adults can contact children via gaming platform

Roblox Commits to Privacy Overhaul After Regulator Probe

Wanderstayfinder.com – Roblox commits to privacy overhaul following a formal undertaking with Australia’s eSafety commissioner, who confirmed that adult users could still locate child accounts, browse their profiles, and send connection requests without parental approval. The regulator announced the findings on Thursday and bound the platform to implement structural changes within ninety days, warning that non-compliance would trigger a Federal Court application for a binding order.

What the Regulator Uncovered

Testing carried out earlier this year revealed gaps that survived a round of safety updates Roblox rolled out in December of the prior year. Adults remained able to view children’s account names, listed interests, and connection histories in plain sight. Forum-style spaces outside the core game environments let children and adults read and reply to one another’s posts with no parental gatekeeping. Connection requests could be initiated by any adult toward any child account, again without consent from a parent or guardian.

The commissioner’s office characterised these findings as potential non-compliance with codes and standards under the Online Safety Act, arguing the platform lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent unsolicited adult-to-child contact.

The New Obligations and Timeline

In its Thursday announcement, the regulator confirmed three core obligations: preventing adults from contacting unknown children without explicit parental consent; strengthening default account settings so child profiles are private out of the box; and engaging an independent third-party auditor to evaluate the full suite of safety measures, with particular attention to the accuracy and robustness of age-estimation technology.

The company has ninety days to deliver. The eSafety commissioner made clear that failure to meet the undertaking could trigger an application to the Federal Court for a binding compliance order.

Regulator and Company Responses

Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety commissioner, noted that roughly 1.7 million Australian children use the platform, making the scale of exposure significant.

“We have been engaging with Roblox for some time at senior levels about our concerns and the company has responded, making a number of improvements to its service,” she said. “Their executives clearly understand that verifiable safety measures are critical to their long-term viability and success.”

On the auditing requirement, Inman Grant added that independent review would ensure the platform could not “mark their own homework.” A Roblox spokesperson characterised the process as “constructive dialogue with eSafety,” saying the company had delivered on prior safety commitments over the past year while continuing to work toward keeping children safe online.

Why This Matters for Australian Families

Roblox occupies a distinctive position in Australian digital regulation. Last year, when the government introduced a social-media ban for under-16s, the platform was excluded because services whose dominant purpose is gaming fall outside the ban’s scope. That carve-out, however, is not permanent. Inman Grant indicated she had not ruled out bringing the platform within the ban’s reach should a future determination conclude that its social features — messaging, forums, connection networks — constitute its dominant purpose rather than a secondary layer atop a game.

For parents of the estimated 1.7 million Australian children on the platform, the practical upshot of Thursday’s announcement is a narrower window of adult-to-child contact within ninety days, backed by the threat of court enforcement if the company falls short.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if Roblox misses the ninety-day deadline? The eSafety commissioner can apply to the Federal Court for a binding compliance order, which carries the force of law and can impose penalties for continued non-compliance.

Do the new rules affect accounts of children already on the platform? Yes. Default account settings will shift so that child profiles are private out of the box, and adult connection requests will require explicit parental consent before they can be sent.

How will the independent audit work? A third-party auditor — selected to ensure no conflict of interest — will evaluate the platform’s full safety suite, including the accuracy of its age-estimation technology, and report findings to the regulator.

Will the under-16 social-media ban eventually cover Roblox? The commissioner has not ruled it out. If a future determination concludes that social features constitute the platform’s dominant purpose, the ban’s scope could be extended to include it.