Platform being pursued by federal police escapes teen social media ban

Popular gaming platform Roblox, which is in the sights of Australia’s federal police chief for harbouring abusers, will escape the government’s teen social media ban when it comes into effect next month.

Minister for Communications Anika Wells revealed on Tuesday that two more platforms, Reddit and livestreaming site Kick, will be forced to remove under-16s from their services from December 10.

They will join Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and X, which the government had already indicated would be captured by the laws. The platforms will need to take reasonable steps to prevent teens from using their sites or risk fines of up to $49.5 million.

But others have been assessed as exempt from the ban for now. Gaming platforms popular with children, including Roblox and Lego Play, and messaging services such as Discord and WhatsApp have been ruled out, though they could be added in the future.

It answers some of the questions that have lingered over multipurpose platforms that have social media elements, but did not clearly meet the law’s threshold of being “solely or significantly” for the purpose of online social interaction.

Experts have called for sites such as Roblox to be banned, arguing the platforms have created loopholes by burying social media within games, and last week Australian Federal Police commissioner Krissy Barrett warned “crimefluencers” were using the platform to target vulnerable girls and manipulate them into hurting themselves.

The eSafety commissioner has been assessing platforms’ suitability for the ban and has developed the list of eight despite flagging in September she may not have the authority to do so.

“There really is a question about whether or not the legislation gives me the power to designate which companies are in and which are out,” Julie Inman Grant told the ABC at the time.

The commissioner’s powers have not been tested in the courts if banned platforms decide to legally challenge their listing. Tech giants Snapchat, TikTok and Meta have previously told parliament they will abide by the ban.

A spokesperson for Kick said on Tuesday the platform had been engaging with eSafety “for some time” and would comply with the ban.

“Kick intends to introduce a range of measures [to implement the age-restrictions],” they said.

Kick is a Melbourne-founded livestreaming site that has become the main competitor to Amazon’s Twitch – which is still being assessed by the commissioner for the social media ban. Violence, sexually explicit material and gambling content can be found on Kick, attracting those barred from other sites. A French man died this year after his abuse was livestreamed on the site.

Reddit is an anonymous messaging board that hosts discussions on public forums, but users can privately message each other.

Minister for Communications Anika Wells said on Thursday the list of banned platforms would continue to evolve.

“eSafety has assessed eight platforms as requiring age-restriction, but their assessments will be ongoing, and this list is dynamic. We aren’t chasing perfection, we are chasing a meaningful difference,” she said in a statement.

“There’s a time and place for social media in Australia, but there’s not a place for predatory algorithms, harmful content and toxic popularity metres manipulating Australian children.”

Wells said she had met with major social media platforms in the past month to make clear there was no excuse for failing to comply.

“Online platforms can target children with chilling control. We are mandating they use that sophisticated technology to protect them,” she said.

Inman Grant encouraged parents, educators and young people to consult the commission’s resources to familiarise themselves with the changes.

“Delaying children’s access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of opaque algorithms and endless scroll,” she said.

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