A well-known online gaming platform is facing increased scrutiny from eSafety authorities amid rising government fears about child grooming and exploitation.

In September, Roblox, a widely used website, pledged to enhance online safety measures, particularly for its younger audience.

The promises included setting accounts for users under 16 to private by default, restricting adult interactions with these minors without parental approval, disabling significant chat functions for them, and barring direct communication with adults.

Now, eSafety has announced plans to evaluate these safety protocols to confirm their effectiveness in protecting children online.

“We are deeply concerned about persistent reports of child exploitation on Roblox and the exposure to harmful content,” stated eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.

“That’s why we reached out to Roblox last week, informing them that aside from our continuous compliance monitoring, we will also personally test the implementation of these commitments to gain direct insights into their effectiveness,” she added.

Roblox is not currently considered an age-restricted platform under the federal social media ban for under-16s.

“I welcome the Minister for Communications’ correspondence and the Australian Government’s support on this important issue, as we use all of the tools available to us to keep Australian kids safe online,” Inman Grant said.

If Roblox is found to be non-compliant with its commitments, eSafety has said it may take further action – including potentially seeking penalties of up to $49.5 million.

New codes focused on age-restricted material such as online pornography, high-impact violence, and self-harm come into force on March 9, and these will apply to Roblox among other platforms.

These also contain requirements for online gaming services such as Roblox to prohibit and take proportionate action against non-consensual sharing of intimate images, the grooming of children, and sexual extortion.

In a statement, a Roblox spokesperson defended the platform’s child protection measures.

“Roblox has robust safety policies and processes to help protect users that go beyond many other platforms, and advanced safeguards that monitor for harmful content and communications,” the spokesperson said.

“We have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information, our chat features don’t allow user-to-user image or video sharing, and we recently rolled out age checks globally to limit kids and teens to only chatting with others of similar age by default.

“We also work closely with Australian law enforcement to support their investigations. While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to strengthen protections to help keep users safe.”