Australia sends legal notices to 4 gaming platforms over unsafe content

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has issued legally enforceable transparency notices to major gaming platforms, including Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Steam, amid growing concerns that online games are being abused by sexual predators and extremist groups.

According to an eSafety Commission statement issued on Wednesday, the notices require companies to explain how they detect, prevent, and respond to harms such as grooming, cyberbullying, online hate, and radicalization, as well as whether their systems are in compliance with Australia’s Basic Online Safety Expectations.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said online gaming environments can act as an initial contact point between offenders and children, who are then often moved to private messaging platforms.

“Gaming platforms are amongst the online spaces most heavily used by Australian children,” she said, noting that around nine in 10 children aged 8 to 17 play online games.

She warned that predators deliberately target children, while extremist content and violent propaganda can be embedded in gameplay environments, increasing risks of radicalization and harm.

eSafety said compliance with the transparency notices is mandatory, with potential penalties of up to AUD $825,000 (approximately $544,500) per day for non-compliance and up to AUD $49.5 million (approximately $32.67 million) per breach under Australia’s online safety laws.

Last year, Australia became the world’s first country to ban social media accounts for minors under 16.

Since Australia’s move, several countries have been taking steps in the same direction amid growing concerns over social media’s effects on growing brains, mental health, and learning.