SYDNEY, Aug 20 (Reuters) – Australia’s internet regulator secured a court-enforceable undertaking from Roblox to improve protections against grooming and sexual exploitation, after tests found adult strangers could still contact children despite safety measures introduced by the world’s biggest gaming platform.
The agreement marks an incremental win for the eSafety Commissioner as it seeks to use its enforcement powers to make online platforms comply with Australia’s sweeping child-safety rules, including a landmark ban on social media for children under 16.
eSafety said on Thursday its testing found adults could send connection requests to young Australian children on Roblox without parental consent, while children and adults could interact on forums outside games without parental approval. Children’s connections, profiles and other information were also visible to other users.
The regulator gave Roblox three months to roll out measures including stopping adults from contacting unknown children without parental consent, making children’s accounts private by default and improving systems for reporting complaints and notifying users of outcomes.
The San Mateo, California-headquartered company must also hire an independent third-party auditor to assess the effectiveness of its safety measures, including its age-estimation technology. eSafety said this was the first time it required an external safety audit by a tech firm.
“Roblox cannot mark their own homework,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.
If Roblox breaches the undertaking, eSafety can apply to the Federal Court for an order requiring the company to comply, as well as seek other orders, the regulator added.
A Roblox spokesperson said the platform had “delivered on the commitments we made to eSafety over the last 12 months and (we) will continue to work towards our shared goal of keeping Australian children safe online”.
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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