Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety commissioner, has been vocal about their new social media ban that covers Roblox. She called it a “challenging” scenario. The commissioner reiterated Roblox’s commitment to the safety of its platform. They need to take concrete steps by the end of this year to make sure children are safe on the platform. The recent praise follows a backdrop of growing accountability for children’s safety on the internet.
Inman Grant has moved swiftly to address safety concerns. This is in response to findings that children have been exposed to illegal and harmful content, such as child sex abuse material and extremist ideologies on Roblox. Her office has reached out to various TikTok-competing companies, including Roblox, warning them that a ban would extend to their platforms as well.
Roblox has taken significant steps to improve safety, including age-gating certain games and increasing parental control features. As Inman Grant argues, we must do more. For instance, we argue that children should have the ability to deactivate rather than delete their accounts.
Ongoing Communication with Roblox
In September, Inman Grant reached out to 16 companies, Roblox among them. Above all, he warned them of ever-looming regulations that could radically reshape their platforms. She claimed that current law only allows for banning platforms whose main purpose is social communication.
Roblox has never been a social media platform but has consistently marketed itself as an “immersive gaming platform.” In response to these allegations, they said, “Roblox is and always has been an immersive gaming platform, not a social media platform.” This distinction has sparked some controversy over whether the platform ought to be part of the social media ban.
Countering Roblox’s claim, Inman Grant called for transparency about what kinds of interaction take place on the platform. She wanted children to know if they were speaking with another child or an adult. They become more aware of the conversations they are having.
“As you would expect, a company like Roblox would say our sole or primary purpose is not social interaction, it’s actually online gaming or online playing.” – Julie Inman Grant
Regulatory Measures and Commitments
Inman Grant’s limited regulatory powers have given her a unique platform to elicit expanded user safety commitments from Roblox. She noted that the settlement means the company will now be making real changes. These measures include making accounts for users under 16 private by default and developing tools that block adult users from messaging minors without parental consent.
The eSafety commissioner wants safer, better age verification processes which private big tech companies have proven they cannot provide. In all her advocacy with Roblox, she made clear that digital ID should play a role in age assurance. She emphasized that should not be the sole approach taken.
“There was a specific amendment that said that a person should not be forced to use government or digital ID and so a platform cannot make that the exclusive form of age assurance.” – Julie Inman Grant
Roblox has recently committed to rolling out the use of age verification to all of its communication tools by the end of this year. Inman Grant emphasized the need for measures to help protect young users from foreseeable harms.
“We have taken Roblox to task and we have come to an agreement where they will employ new safety measures, including making accounts for users aged under 16 private by default.” – Julie Inman Grant
Future of Social Media Regulations
Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter/X, and YouTube have already been ruled out by the state’s own admission. Inman Grant’s office will work out the particulars with respect to which other platforms will be included very soon.
“While we recognize that distinguishing definitions of social media versus gaming is difficult, it is essential that it is differentiated for enforcement purposes,” she said.
“Being able to parse that in a way that will stand up and in a court of law is what is taking a little bit of time.” – Julie Inman Grant
As discussions continue regarding the future of online safety regulations, both Inman Grant and Roblox remain engaged in dialogue aimed at safeguarding young users while clarifying their respective roles within the digital landscape.
“They need to implement these to our satisfaction by the end of this calendar year.” – Julie Inman Grant
As discussions continue regarding the future of online safety regulations, both Inman Grant and Roblox remain engaged in dialogue aimed at safeguarding young users while clarifying their respective roles within the digital landscape.
