Experts warn online video games could fall under Australia’s under-16 social media ban

• Industry figures fear the exclusion of online games may not be permanent.
• eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has cautioned platforms like Roblox and Lego Play.
• Professor Marcus Carter says banning games would only push children to new platforms.
• A ban could undermine efforts to build safer, well-designed online spaces for young players.

Digital media experts warn that online video games could eventually be included in the Australian federal government’s social media ban for users under age 16. 

According to ABC, the ban currently exempts gaming platforms primarily designed for multiplayer play. However, associate professor Brendan Keogh from QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre said the ban’s definitions are vague.

“I still have questions about how much any minister of the day can change what is or isn't excluded from those central definitions," Dr Keogh said.

"I think there's concern in the video games industry about just how reliable or permanent that exclusion of [online] games is."

Overreaction or protection?

Esafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant has warned platforms like Roblox and Lego Play that the under-16 social media ban could extend to them. 

University of Sydney professor Marcus Carter said Roblox faces valid criticism over poor moderation of harmful content, but argued that banning such games would only drive young users to other platforms.

“When I ran studies in 2021, everybody was playing Fortnite," said Carter. Now, the kids are all playing Roblox, and in three years, they'll be playing a different game.

"Is the commissioner going to play whack-a-mole with every game that children start playing? Once children are banned from creating an account on one game, they're just going to move to another game."

Professor Carter further argued that extending the social media ban to online games would be an overreaction, noting that gaming offers significant social, creative, and intellectual benefits for young people. 

“A ban is going to eradicate the opportunity to create 'safety by design' features that make children's online play worlds better. That's not the right way to go about building a safer children's internet," said Carter.