Australia targets Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and Steam in child safety push

Australian regulator demands major gaming platforms detail child protection measures against predators and extremist content. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Australia targets Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and Steam in child safety push

Contesto

Australian authorities have issued formal legal notices to the operators of major online gaming and distribution platforms, including Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Steam, demanding they outline the specific steps they are taking to protect young users from sexual exploitation and radicalization. The move, announced this week by the country's eSafety Commissioner, represents a significant escalation in regulatory pressure on the global digital entertainment industry, compelling companies to account for their safety-by-design practices under the threat of substantial financial penalties. The regulatory action leverages Australia's Online Safety Act, which grants the eSafety Commissioner broad powers to compel information from technology companies. The notices require each named service to detail their existing safeguards, internal policies, and enforcement actions related to preventing child sexual abuse, mitigating the risk of extremist grooming, and handling user reports. Failure to comply adequately could result in fines of nearly $700,000 Australian dollars per day for ongoing violations, putting substantial legal and financial stakes on the responses. The targeted platforms are immensely popular with children and teenagers, creating vast digital spaces where social interaction is a core component of the experience. Roblox, a user-generated game platform, and the massively popular worlds of Minecraft and Fortnite, are routinely used by millions of minors for play and communication. Steam, while a distribution storefront for a wider audience, also hosts social features and games accessible to younger users. The regulator's concern centers on the potential for these interactive environments to be exploited by malicious actors seeking to contact, groom, or harm children outside the view of parents or platform moderators. This initiative is part of a broader, global reckoning over the duty of care owed by tech giants to their youngest users. In recent years, jurisdictions from the United Kingdom to the European Union have moved to enact stricter online safety laws, often with a focus on protecting children. Australia's approach is notably direct, shifting the...

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Categoria: cronaca