Roblox loophole: Experts warn of unintended consequences of Australia’s under-16s social media ban

Experts have warned it’s a “no-brainer” that children will migrate to gaming apps like Roblox when Australia’s under-16s social media ban is implemented in just three weeks.

Nine platforms will become age restricted from December 10, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit and Kick.

But Curtin University internet studies professor Tama Leaver warned children will either find their way around the restrictions or flood excluded gaming or messenger apps instead.

“You can still engage with people through a lot of these gaming platforms, including Roblox,” he said.

“It’s a no-brainer that kids are going to migrate to gaming platforms that are still there because there’s some social affordances built in — You can still chat with people.”

While messaging and gaming apps remain exempt, eSafety has released guidance on the apps and sought assurances they would enhance age checks and safety protocols.

Esafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has urged any exempt platform to report spikes in users after the December 10 start date but shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh has expressed scepticism platforms would do so voluntarily.

The platforms included will be required to deactivate or delete the accounts of users aged under 16 and stop them from starting accounts or face fines of up to $49.5 million.

But Prof Leaver warned the Federal Government’s $14 million advertising campaign has so far been insufficient to prepare kids and parents for the change, which he stressed could be a “incredibly traumatic” shift.

“There’s a lot of things that are happening at what feels like the last minute,” he said.

“It could be incredibly traumatic to have what for some people will feel like their entire social world gets cut off — potentially overnight.”

He criticised the “dynamic list” of included platforms — which include the last-minute additions of YouTube, Kick and Reddit — saying the unpredictability of which platforms are included had been confusing for families trying to understand the ban.

“The actual list has been really poorly managed. There’s a lack of clarity. It feels a little bit like a reminder to the big companies to do better but it’s also super confusing messaging for young people,” he said.

Since the national ad blitz across TV, billboards and social media kicked off last month, more than 200,000 people have visited the eSafety website — an increase that is 20 times the site’s usual traffic.Ms McIntosh criticised the government’s advertising campaign as “too little too late”.

“Far too many parents and kids still don’t have the information they need to support their kids,” she said in a statement.

But despite the criticisms Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday argued that the ban had “bipartisan support” and was “healthy for everyone”.

“Everyone in the Parliament voted for this. We set rules as a society, and this is us as a society saying ‘let kids be kids’, ‘let them have their childhood’,” he said.

He labelled it a sign of Australia “showing leadership”, with other world leaders keenly watching on to also implement similar restrictions.

“We are leading the world and the world is watching. Denmark are following us, New Zealand are following us,” he said.

“We held a forum at the United Nations and representatives of more than 30 countries came. Many of them said, ‘I’ve been to lots of forums at the UN over the years — This is one that changed my mind’.”

Ms McIntosh has also warned the campaign doesn’t go far enough to address the concerns held by Australian families and concerns that children could flood controversial online game Roblox — which still has social interaction features.

The national ad campaign is scheduled to run up to December 10, with further communication to be rolled out afterwards to help families with the transition.

“I think we’ll see a radical spike in people seeking resources as young people are confronted with the realities of the ban,” Prof Leaver said.

Communications Minister Anika Wells says the government has also engaged a string of mental health services ahead of the ban to assist children needing to reach out for support once disconnected from their favourite platforms.