Twitch, Steam, Roblox & more could be banned in Australia for kids over social media clampdown

Twitch, Roblox, Steam, Lego Play, X, and Reddit have been contacted by Australia’s eSafety commissioner to assess whether the upcoming ban on kids under 16 using social media will apply to them.

The commissioner asked companies in September to complete self-assessments against the law, which will be used to determine if they must comply. eSafety will not formally declare which platforms qualify, but those it considers age-restricted will be expected to follow the rules.

The commissioner confirmed platforms believed to be age-restricted will be expected to comply with the law, with information on assessments to be shared before the December 10 start date.

Twitch

Social media platforms targeted

Meta’s Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp are at the top of the list, along with Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X, Discord, Reddit, Pinterest, and Kick. An eSafety spokesperson said many of the social apps “meet many of the conditions the legislation uses to define an age-restricted social media platform.”

Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch was also contacted by the regulators, and could face a ban for users under 16.

According to eSafety’s website, the laws only prevent users from having accounts on the affected websites. Twitch, YouTube, and Kick all allow you to watch streams and videos without being logged in, while TikTok and X make it a bit harder to navigate the platform without an account.

Match Group’s dating apps Tinder and Hinge, and Microsoft-owned GitHub, were also on the list, despite not being traditional social media platforms.

Gaming platforms under review

Roblox

The inclusion of Roblox, Steam and Lego Play was unexpected, since services used primarily for playing online games are exempt from the law. eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant has previously raised concerns about Roblox’s communication features being used for grooming.

“We know that when it comes to platforms that are popular with children, they also become popular with adult predators seeking to prey on them,” Inman Grant said earlier this month,” she said.

Roblox has committed to implementing new safeguards by the end of 2025, including private-by-default accounts for under-16s, stricter chat controls, and tools preventing adult users from contacting children without parental consent.

These changes came after Roblox threatened to sue YouTube “predator hunter” Schlep and banned him from the platform, later calling him a “vigilante” for going after child predators.