The UK government's push to regulate children's online activity has moved beyond social media feeds and into gaming lobbies. Kanishka Narayan, the online safety minister, has signalled that any legislation targeting children's social media use could extend to gaming platforms, specifically targeting the ability for strangers to contact kids through in-game chat.
This matters because it would mark the first time a major Western government has seriously proposed restricting communication features inside games like Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft, not just on traditional social media platforms.
Roblox chat restriction options
The stranger pairing problem that sparked this debate
Narayan returned last week from a four-day visit to Australia, where he met with government officials studying the impact of that country's social media ban for under-16s. What he heard there shifted his focus. The "particular feature around stranger pairing" came up "mostly in the context of gaming platforms," he said, meaning the ability for an adult to initiate contact with a child they have never met through in-game chat or voice systems.
That concern is grounded in real incidents. In April, a man was jailed in the UK for grooming a 14-year-old girl he first contacted through Roblox. In October, a Discord user became the first person jailed in the UK under the Online Safety Act after sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl he reached through the platform.
Around 1.5 million British children use Roblox. The platform already applies staggered access rules: players aged nine to 15 can access moderate content and social features, while the youngest users are limited to mild content. Voice and text chat require an age check using facial estimation technology, though that system is not foolproof.
The UK's proposed measures would go further than Australia's existing ban, which targets social media platforms and does not currently extend to gaming apps.
What the government is actually considering
Sir Keir Starmer has committed to introducing policy that mirrors Australia's approach or restricts specific harmful design features. Three features are under the microscope: stranger pairing, infinite scrolling, and location tracking. Gaming platforms are now explicitly part of that conversation.
Rachel de Souza, the children's commissioner, framed it directly: "Boys often aren't on social media. They're often spending three or four hours a day gaming. And those games often have features that allow a 55-year-old in Arizona to come in and speak to a nine-year-old."
The NSPCC echoed that position, calling for tech companies to be compelled to implement stronger age assurance measures. The organisation's director of policy, Anna Edmundson, said children have faced "unacceptable risks on gaming platforms for far too long."
Narayan cautioned that nothing will move immediately. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is still working through more than 100,000 responses from a public consultation that closed this past Tuesday. The government is aiming to announce proposals before the Makerfield by-election on June 18.
UK online safety legislation push
Why the gaming industry will push back hard
The debate in Australia exposed real fault lines. Critics of extending bans to gaming platforms argued that games do not rely on the same addictive algorithmic feeds as social media and can actively support problem-solving and social skills in children. Games in both the UK and Australia are also already subject to age-classification rules that social media platforms largely bypass.
Here's the thing: there is a meaningful difference between a platform algorithmically surfacing harmful content to a child and a game where a stranger can send a direct message. Both carry risk, but the mechanisms and potential fixes are different. Blanket restrictions on chat features could affect legitimate social play between friends just as easily as they block predatory contact.
Australia's experience offers a cautionary data point. More than 60 percent of 12 to 15-year-olds there still have access to social media accounts that the ban was supposed to block, based on research published last month. Narayan acknowledged the compliance gap but argued that legislation shifts social norms over time, drawing comparisons to seatbelt laws and the smoking ban.
For players and parents wanting to understand the current safety settings across these platforms, the gaming guides section covers parental control options in detail.
What players and parents should watch next
Ofcom already holds the power to fine non-compliant platforms up to $22 million or 10 percent of global revenue under the Online Safety Act, though those powers have not yet been used against any major tech company. If the UK follows Australia's enforcement model, that could change quickly.
The key here is that Narayan's comments are still exploratory, not confirmed policy. But the direction of travel is clear: gaming platforms are now inside the tent of this regulatory debate, and companies like Epic Games, Mojang, and Roblox Corporation will be watching the June announcement closely.
For a broader look at where these games stand right now, the game reviews section has up-to-date coverage across all major platforms. The next few weeks will define whether the UK's approach becomes a model other countries follow or a cautionary tale about overreach.
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