Key facts
- Australia's eSafety Commissioner found 'significant gaps' in child safety measures on gaming platforms.
- Nine out of 10 Australian children aged 8-17 play online games.
- Valve, owner of Steam, reportedly does not use widely adopted technology to detect harmful content.
- Valve and Roblox were noted for using only internal datasets to train language detection systems.
- Minecraft and Fortnite allow users to self-declare age, potentially granting access to higher-risk communication features.
- eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant urged platforms to 'lift their game' on child safety.
Australia's online safety regulator has identified "significant gaps" in the child safety measures implemented by popular gaming platforms, including Steam, Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft. The eSafety Commissioner's report, released on October 27, 2025, highlights inconsistent approaches by these platforms in protecting children from online harms such as predators, sexual extortion, and violent extremist content.
Research indicates that nine out of 10 Australian children aged 8 to 17 engage in online gaming. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant stated that these platforms must "lift their game" to ensure children can play online safely. The report specifically noted that Valve, the owner of Steam, was the only provider that did not utilize widely adopted technology to detect and remove known harmful content. Valve also reportedly did not proactively use tools to identify child sexual exploitation or violent material in chats, with current systems primarily flagging scams.
Roblox and Valve were also criticized for relying solely on internal datasets to train their language detection systems and for not regularly retraining these models. While Minecraft and Fortnite offer child accounts, the report found they generally allow users to self-declare their age, which can grant access to higher-risk communication features. Steam also relies on self-declared age, though it has recently introduced age checks via credit cards, and Roblox has implemented stronger age checks since December 2025.
The report further pointed to inconsistent information sharing and participation in industry initiatives among the platforms. Mojang Studios (Minecraft) and Roblox shared expertise in combating child sexual exploitation and violent extremism, but Valve did not. Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, reportedly failed to share instances of breaches with other platforms under a global program designed to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The eSafety Commission collected information on platform protection measures between October 2025 and March 2026.