After banning social media for teens, Australia is now investigating Roblox for…

Australia's digital regulator has confirmed it's testing Roblox's compliance with its commitments to keep children safe. The latest probe comes as concerns grow about potential child grooming and sexual exploitation on the platform.

This investigation follows Australia's December 2025 ban on under-16s on social media platforms. The Online Safety Amendment Act requires major social media platforms, including Meta's Instagram, ByteDance's TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube, Elon Musk's X, and Reddit, to implement age-verification methods such as facial recognition from selfies, uploaded ID documents, or linked bank details. Tech companies face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32 million) if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to comply.

Australia's government argued the legislation would protect teens from addictive algorithm design and mental health harms attributed to social media, such as reduced sleep and increased stress.

What Australian regulator said about investigating Roblox

In a recent statement (seen by Bloomberg), Australia’s eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said, “We remain highly concerned by ongoing reports regarding the exploitation of children on the Roblox service and exposure to harmful material.”In addition to routine monitoring, the regulator will also test Roblox's implementation of the nine safety commitments it made last year. This includes introducing tools to stop adults from contacting users aged under 16 without parental consent. Grant said she wants "first-hand insights into this compliance."

Beyond Australia, Roblox is under scrutiny worldwide as governments seek to reduce online harm to children. In the event of non-compliance, eSafety can seek penalties of up to A$49.5 million ($35 million) against the company.Last week, Grant even criticised technology companies, including Meta, Apple and Google, for failing to stamp out child sexual exploitation and abuse on their services, even after repeated calls to address shortfalls.In a blog post, the Australian government justified banning social media for teens and said, “The social media age restrictions aim to protect young Australians from pressures and risks that users can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts. These come from design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing.”