Popular gaming platform Roblox will introduce a range of measures aimed at protecting Australian children after intervention by the eSafety Commissioner over concerns young users are being “groomed”.

Roblox is a hugely popular game with an estimated 79 million daily users globally.

The eSafety Commissioner said on Monday that US-based Roblox had committed to introduce measures including preventing adults from contacting under 16-year-olds in the game and turning off a range of features by default for children in Australia by the end of the year.

It comes after significant concerns that the Roblox gaming platform was being used by adult predators to groom and sexually exploit children.

The company is facing a number of lawsuits in the US that have accused it of sexual exploitation.

Roblox is a “virtual sandbox” which allows users to create their own avatars and gaming experiences that they can play with friends.

It is squarely aimed at children, with an estimated one third of its users being aged under 13 years of age.

Significant safety concerns

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant recently met with Roblox’s chief legal officer and chief safety officer and outlined concerns about the platform and its obligations in Australia to tackle serious harm around grooming, sexual extortion and other forms of child sexual exploitation.

Roblox is subject to Australia’s industry codes and standards under the Online Safety Act.

“We know that when it comes to platforms that are popular with children, they also become popular with adult predators seeking to prey on them,” Inman Grant said.

“Roblox is no exception and has become a popular target for paedophiles seeking to groom children.

“We’ve been engaging with Roblox on this issue for several months to make it clear to the platform that under Australian law they are required to take meaningful action to prioritise the protection of children.”

The US-based platform has now committed to implement safety measures in Australia “as a result of eSafety’s engagement with the platform”, the Commission said.

Under-16s will have strict limits placed on their Roblox accounts. Photo: Shutterstock

These measures include making accounts for users aged under 16 years private by default, new tools to prevent adult users from contacting under-16s without parental consent, and turning off features by default for children including direct chat and “experience chat”, until they have gone through age estimation.

Parents will also be given the power to disable chat for 13- to 15-year-olds, and voice chat will not be allowed between adults and children aged 13 to 15.

Roblox announced earlier this month that it would be expanding its use of age estimation technology across its communication services, involving a combination of facial age estimation technology, ID age verification and verified parental consent.

“I am pleased to see them come to the table with these new safety commitments,” Inman Grant said.

“It also demonstrates the potential of these world-leading codes and standards to have a transformative effect on the online industry when it comes to protecting children from the most egregious harms.

“We want platforms to view safety as a high ceiling rather than a dirt floor with companies doing more than just the bare minimum.”

Roblox US lawsuits

Last week the family of a 15-year-old boy who died by suicide last year sued Roblox in San Francisco, accusing the company of wrongful death and “recklessly and deceptively operating their business in a way that led to the sexual exploitation and suicide” of their son.

The boy, Ethan, started playing Roblox when he was under 10 years old, with parental approval and controls in place, as the New York Times reported.

When Ethan was 12, he was targeted by an “adult sex predator” who was posing as a child on the platform.

Gradually, conversation between the two “escalated to sexual topics and explicit exchanges”.

The predator showed Ethan how to disable some parental controls and moved the conversation onto the Discord messaging platform.

Ethan’s parents are suing Roblox and Discord for wrongful death, fraudulent concealment and misrepresentations, negligent misrepresentation and strict liability.

In a statement provided to NBC News, Roblox said it was “deeply saddened by this tragic, unimaginable loss”.

“While we cannot comment on claims raised in litigation, we always strive to hold ourselves to the highest safety standard,” a Roblox spokesperson said.

Last month, the Louisiana Attorney-General also sued Roblox over concerns about predators in the game, with the lawsuit labelling it the “perfect place for paedophiles”.

The Attorney-General accused Roblox of creating an environment for predators to “thrive, unite, hunt and victimise kids”.

According to the New York Times, there are now more than 20 lawsuits in the US that are accusing Roblox of sexual exploitation.