Australia targets Steam, Roblox and others in new legal push against extremists and predators

Australia's eSafety agency sent legal notices to Valve / Steam, Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite to explain how they're fighting sexual predators and extremists.

In a statement published today, all those mentioned are now legally required to respond on how they're combating a mixture of concerns eSafety have including how they're dealing with sexual predators grooming children and extremist groups that spread violent propaganda and radicalise young people.

From the statement: "We've seen numerous media reports about grooming taking place on all four of these platforms as well as terrorist and violent extremist-themed gameplay. This includes Islamic State-inspired games and recreations of mass shootings on Roblox, as well as far right groups recreating fascist imagery in Minecraft." said eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, "Media reports have also pointed to games in Fortnite gamifying the horrific events of the WWII Jasenovac concentration camp and the January 6th US Capitol Building riots, while Steam is reportedly a hub for a number of extreme-right communities".

All companies involved risk fines of up to AU$825,000 a day if they do not comply.

Much like the UK, Australia has their own "Online Safety Act" all platforms need to adhere to, which includes their own "Online Safety Codes and Standards". They also more recently added the "Age-Restricted Material Codes" which appears to require age verification too for various things that Valve and others need to implement. Breaching those codes can have huge penalties too of "up to $49.5 million per breach".

So it seems Valve and other companies have work to do.

I've emailed Valve press to see if they have anything to share on this.