Regulators are forcing child-safety changes on platforms
Platforms where children play and chat, such as Roblox and Discord, spent years facing lawsuits and bad headlines over child safety. Governments are now ordering specific changes, some with deadlines attached. For players, the most visible result is being asked to prove their age.
Where it stands
Roblox faces 182 lawsuits before one US federal judge, suits from several states, and since August 2026 a Senate investigation. Roblox disputes the claims. In Australia it has made a court-enforceable promise to limit adults' contact with children and accept an outside audit. A Texas order requires age checks on Discord, and Brazil made Discord switch off livestreaming. Blocks are the blunter tool, and they do not always last. Russia lifted its block on Roblox after six months.
| Market | What has been compelled | The detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Roblox bound to changes and an outside audit | Roblox has given the online safety regulator a promise that a court can enforce. It must stop adults contacting children they do not know without a parent's consent, make under-16 accounts private by default, and accept the first independent audit required under Australia's Online Safety Act. It has three months. | |
| USA | Senate investigation, and 182 lawsuits | A Senate Judiciary subcommittee has told Roblox to preserve its child-safety records and hand over documents by the end of August 2026. No federal rule compels changes. The pressure is the investigation, suits by state attorneys general, and private lawsuits gathered before one federal judge. | |
| USA | Texas: Discord ordered to apply its UK protections | An agreed court order in Texas, announced on 24 July 2026, gives Discord 90 days to give Texas users the same age checks and default safety settings it already runs in the UK. Discord consented to the order. It binds one state. | |
| UK | Commitments, not an order | After a demand from the regulator Ofcom under the Online Safety Act, Roblox committed to using age checks so that it suggests only age-suitable games, and to letting parents of under-16s switch chat off. | |
| EU | Designated, with a December deadline | The European Commission has designated Roblox a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act, the tier for services with 45 million or more monthly users in the EU. It has until the end of December 2026 to comply with the tier's duties. | |
| Turkey | Blocked by a court | Roblox has been blocked entirely since a court order of 7 August 2024. The justice minister cited content that could lead to the abuse of children. | |
| Russia | Blocked, then unblocked | The media regulator blocked Roblox in December 2025 and lifted the block in June 2026, after Roblox added limits on which games each age group can reach, and after 63,000 letters from children and parents. | |
| Brazil | Discord livestreams suspended | The data protection authority ordered Discord on 12 August 2026 to suspend its livestreaming and video tools, and Discord says it complied on 17 August. On 24 September the authority refused Discord's request to restore them, and the company's appeal goes to the authority's board, with the tools suspended until it rules. | |
| MENA | Blocked in several Gulf states | Qatar blocked Roblox on 13 August 2025 and Kuwait's telecoms regulator announced a temporary block on 21 August. Oman and Jordan have banned it since 2020. The United Arab Emirates banned it from 2018 to 2021. | |
| EU | Proposed: safety by design, with an audit before children are reached | Nothing is compelled yet. The Commission's draft KIDS Act of 17 September 2026 would require games to be safe by design, restrict contact between minors and other users, and oblige the largest platforms, those with 45 million or more monthly users in the EU, to submit a compliance plan verified by independent auditors at their own expense before their services come into contact with children. Fines can reach 6% of worldwide annual turnover. It is a proposal. | European Commission, The KIDS Act explained (17 September 2026) |
| EU | Proposed: a duty to rate every game and carry the age-check app | Nothing is compelled yet. The Commission's draft KIDS Act of 17 September 2026 would require app stores to age-rate every app, including videogames, with a published methodology, to refuse children access to or purchase of apps inappropriate for their age, and to carry the EU age verification app. It is a duty on the store rather than on the developer, and it is a proposal. | European Commission, The KIDS Act explained (17 September 2026) |
Timeline
2024
A Turkish court blocks Roblox
A criminal court in Adana orders access to Roblox blocked across Turkey on 7 August 2024. The justice minister says the platform carries content that could lead to the abuse of children.
2025
Louisiana files the first state lawsuit against Roblox
Louisiana's attorney general, Liz Murrill, sues Roblox, calling it 'the perfect place for pedophiles'. Other states follow.
Roblox announces age checks for anyone who wants to chat
Roblox says every user who wants to chat must have their age estimated from a face scan, or show identification. The rule is enforced first in Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand in early December, then worldwide by early January 2026.
The lawsuits against Roblox are gathered before one federal judge
A panel of federal judges sends the child-exploitation lawsuits against Roblox to a single judge in northern California for the stages before trial. The panel's monthly count stood at 85 cases in January 2026 and 182 on 1 September 2026.
US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (1 September 2026)
2026
Australia demands answers from Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and Steam
Australia's online safety regulator serves legally enforceable notices on the four platforms, requiring them to explain how they find, prevent and respond to grooming, extremism and bullying.
Russia lifts its block on Roblox after six months
Russia's media regulator had blocked Roblox in December 2025, cutting off about 18 million monthly users. It lifts the block in June 2026 after Roblox adds age-group limits on games, and after 63,000 letters from children and parents.
Discord agrees to a Texas court order on age checks
Texas sued Discord in May. In July its attorney general announces an injunction that Discord agreed to. Discord has 90 days to give users in Texas the age checks and default safety settings it already runs in the UK, where the law gave it a deadline.
The US Senate opens an investigation into Roblox
Senators Josh Hawley and Dick Durbin write to Roblox on 12 August, telling it to preserve its records and produce documents by the end of the month. Roblox reported 65,381 cases of suspected child exploitation in 2025, more than double the year before, and says the rise reflects better detection.
Brazil orders Discord to switch off livestreaming
After the death of a 13-year-old girl, Brazil's data protection authority gives Discord three business days to suspend its livestreaming tools in the country. Discord complies on 17 August. It denies that the death was shown live on its service.
Roblox accepts binding commitments and an outside audit in Australia
After the regulator's own testing found gaps, Roblox gives it an undertaking that a court can enforce, with three months to comply. The regulator says it is the first time it has required an audit by an outside party. Roblox says it believes it already meets its obligations.
Australians must prove their age to buy adult-rated games
Under an industry code the regulator registered in 2025, Microsoft begins checking age on its Xbox store in August, by selfie, identification, credit card or email. On 8 September Steam starts requiring an Australian credit card to view or buy games rated R18+, and offers no other method.
The European Commission adopts a draft law on contact with minors online
The Commission adopts a draft KIDS Act on 17 September 2026. Its age thresholds apply to social networking and video-sharing services, but its safety-by-design duties cover games. Nobody may message a child without pre-approval, children do not appear in contact suggestions, cannot be added to groups without agreement, can block anyone anonymously, and may not livestream by default. Enforcement builds on the Digital Services Act, with fines up to 6% of total worldwide annual turnover. It is a proposal and has to pass the Parliament and the member states.
European Commission, The KIDS Act explained (17 September 2026)
A California judge refuses to dismiss Los Angeles County's case against Roblox
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dean Kitchens rules in September 2026 that neither federal law nor the First Amendment shields Roblox from Los Angeles County's claims, and the case proceeds. The county alleges the platform failed to protect young users from predators and sexual exploitation. It is a ruling on whether the case may be heard, not on whether the allegations are true.
A California county sues an ad network over ads shown to children
San Diego County sues the mobile advertising company AppLovin at San Diego Superior Court in October 2026, alleging it served children ads for dating services, alcohol, vaping and sexual content in games on devices with parental controls turned on, and that it worked around the tracking limits Apple and Google provide to target children without parental consent. The county also alleges it collected data from children's devices after parents had opted out. AppLovin had not responded when the suit was reported.
Consequences
012026
Safety measures add friction, and Roblox is losing players
Roblox's daily users fell to 123 million from a peak of 152 million, its average for the third quarter of 2025. IGN's Tom Phillips writes that age verification has likely added friction for players. Roblox's own finance chief gives a different main cause: the fading of 2025's viral hits and a change to what the platform recommends to children.
022026
Age checks create a new store of sensitive data
Shaun Prescott of PC Gamer writes that players fear verification technology as a route to more surveillance. He points to a 2025 breach at Discord's contractor that exposed about 70,000 photos of government identity documents, which users had sent in to appeal a decision about their age.
032026
A check with one method locks out lawful adults
Steam accepts only a credit card in Australia, and rejects debit cards. Prescott's summary: 'If you don't have a credit card, you don't play adult games.' That excludes adults who cannot get one or choose not to.
042026
One country's rule becomes another's template
The Texas attorney general's case was that Discord had already solved the problem in Britain, where the law gave it a deadline. The Texas order imports the UK settings whole. Roblox did the same in reverse, trialing its chat age checks in Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand before applying them worldwide.
Objections
Counterpoint2026
Roblox says the numbers show better detection, not more abuse
Roblox disputes the claims against it. It told Australia's regulator it believes it meets its legal obligations, and says the doubling of its reports of suspected exploitation in 2025 reflects better detection rather than more abuse.
Counterpoint2026
Britain's regulator has not fined a game platform, and most of its fines are unpaid
Ofcom told a House of Lords committee that most fines under the Online Safety Act have not been paid. They total a little over 7 million pounds across 11 providers, mostly small pornography companies. None is a game platform.
Counterpoint2026
The checks can be beaten, and nobody has measured whether they work
Engadget reports children fooling Roblox's age estimation by drawing mustaches and wrinkles on their faces. No regulator has published whether reports of grooming fell after any of these measures. The first independent audit, of Roblox in Australia, has not yet reported.
What to watch
2026
Roblox's three months in Australia run out
Late November 2026, when Roblox's three months to meet its Australian commitments end and the outside audit follows. The regulator also expects to publish what it learned from its notices to Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and Steam later this year.
2026
Roblox's European deadline
The end of December 2026, when Roblox must comply with the duties of a very large online platform under the EU's Digital Services Act, including assessing the risks its service poses to minors.
Further reading
- PrimaryeSafety secures court-enforceable undertaking from Robloxesafety.gov.au
- ReportingAustralians must now prove their age to buy R18+ gamespcgamer.com
- ReportingSteam implements age verification for R18+ games in Australia, credit card requiredthisweekinvideogames.com
Where to follow it eSafety Commissioner (AU), Ofcom Online Safety Act updates (UK), state AG press offices, The Guardian tech desk, Roblox's safety blog and earnings calls
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