**Australia Identifies Child Safety Gaps on Popular Gaming Platforms**
Australia's eSafety Commissioner has released a report highlighting significant shortcomings in child safety measures across several popular online gaming platforms, including Steam, Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft. The findings underscore the urgent need for these platforms to enhance their protective measures for young users, as research indicates that approximately 90% of Australian children aged 8 to 17 engage with online gaming.
Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety Commissioner, emphasized that Australian children deserve a safe online environment free from threats such as predators, sexual extortionists, and exposure to violent extremist content. The report reveals that current safety protocols on these platforms are inadequate, allowing "predatory adults" to potentially groom children for exploitation or radicalization.
One of the key findings of the report is that Valve, the company behind Steam, was notably lacking in implementing industry-standard technologies designed to detect and eliminate harmful content. Unlike its competitors, Valve did not proactively employ tools to identify instances of child sexual exploitation or violent material within chats, with its existing systems primarily focused on flagging scams.
Roblox and Valve were also criticized for relying solely on internal datasets to train their language detection systems, without regularly updating these models. Inman Grant stated, "We expect these services to lift their game to identify and combat serious harms such as child sexual exploitation, sexual extortion, and material and activity which promotes, incites, or instructs violence."
The report further highlighted that both Minecraft and Fortnite allow users to self-declare their ages, which can lead to younger players accessing features that pose higher risks. While Fortnite does offer child accounts, its age verification process is not foolproof. Steam has recently introduced age checks using credit cards, and Roblox has strengthened its age verification measures since December 2025, but inconsistencies remain.
Another concern raised in the report is the lack of collaboration among the gaming platforms in sharing information and participating in initiatives aimed at combating child exploitation. While Mojang Studios (the developer of Minecraft) and Roblox have shared expertise in addressing online child sexual exploitation and violent extremism, Valve has not engaged in such collaborative efforts. Additionally, Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, failed to report breaches to other platforms as part of a global initiative designed to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The report's findings are based on data collected by the eSafety Commission regarding the platforms' protective measures from October 2025 to March 2026. Australia's proactive approach to online safety has garnered international attention, particularly following the introduction of a social media ban for users under 16 in December 2025, which did not extend to gaming platforms. The country is also advocating for tech companies to provide users with the option to opt out of social media algorithms.
In light of the report, Valve, Epic Games, Roblox, and Microsoft (which owns Minecraft) have been contacted for comments regarding their child safety measures and future plans to enhance protections for young users.
As the gaming industry continues to grow, the call for improved safety protocols becomes increasingly critical to ensure that children can enjoy online gaming without exposure to harmful content and interactions.