Australia's eSafety Regulator Exposes Critical Child Safety Gaps in Steam, Roblox, and Fortnite

CANBERRA — Australia’s online safety regulator has issued a stark warning regarding major gaming platforms, revealing "significant gaps" in their mechanisms to protect child users from online predators, sexual extortion, and violent extremist content. A comprehensive report released by Australia’s eSafety Commission evaluated child protection measures implemented by major gaming ecosystems—including Steam, Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft—between October 2025 and March 2026. The findings highlight severe inconsistencies in safety protocols across platforms heavily frequented by minors. According to eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, weak safety mechanisms create opportunities for predatory adults to groom young users. Research cited in the report indicates that 90% of Australian children aged 8 to 17 actively engage in online gaming. Key Findings from the Regulator's Investigation: Detection Tool Deficiencies: Valve, the parent company of Steam, was singled out as the only major platform failing to proactively utilize industry-standard automated detection tools to scan for child sexual abuse material and violent content in user chats. Flawed Age Verification: Platforms such as Fortnite and Minecraft largely rely on self-declared age inputs during account creation, allowing underage players to easily bypass restrictions and access high-risk communication features. Information Sharing Disparities: While Roblox and Mojang Studios (Minecraft) actively participate in global industry initiatives against child exploitation, Valve and Epic Games (Fortnite) faced criticism for inconsistent information-sharing regarding platform security breaches. In response to the report, a Roblox spokesperson emphasized that the company has invested heavily in mandatory age-verification safeguards and prioritizes user safety. Meanwhile, Valve and Microsoft have been contacted for official statements regarding the regulator's findings. Australia continues to lead strict global digital safety initiatives, following its legislative ban on social media accounts for under-16s enacted last year. While gaming platforms were excluded from that specific ban, regulators emphasize that enforcement actions will expand if platforms fail to remediate identified security gaps.