Independent TD for Offaly, Carol Nolan, has criticised the response from Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, to a parliamentary question which asked him to outline the legislative or regulatory frameworks that exist to address the use of online gaming platforms as vectors for child exploitation in Ireland, and the oversight mechanisms which exist for such platforms operating in Ireland where children may be at risk.
However, the Minister’s reply confirms that the Online Safety Code, introduced under the Online Safety and Media Regulation (OSMR) Act 2022, “only applies to the designated Video Sharing Platforms Services, operating in Ireland and not online gaming platforms.”
He also stated that oversight of the specific platform referenced by Deputy Nolan (Roblox) rests with Dutch regulatory authorities because its European headquarters are in Amsterdam:
“This is a deeply alarming admission that the Irish Government is effectively doing nothing to protect children from the very real and growing threat of grooming and exploitation on online gaming platforms,” said Deputy Nolan.
“I raised this issue after concerned constituents contacted me having become aware of RTÉ’s Prime Time investigation and warnings from a senior Garda in the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau that children are being groomed and exploited on platforms such as Roblox on an ‘alarming scale’.
“As I understand it Roblox has more than 40% of its users estimated to be under 13. Indeed, we know from the Prime Time investigation that children as young as five can communicate directly with adults, access highly suggestive sexual environments, and encounter grooming attempts using coded language and that the same children can do in the absence of age verification or parental consent.”
“I found it absolutely horrifying to hear a senior Garda confirm such exploitation is happening on a daily basis in Ireland, including cases of nine-year-olds being coerced into explicit sexual acts in exchange for virtual currency.”
“What troubles me most about the Minister’s response is that it simply accepts that our safety architecture explicitly excludes gaming platforms and defers responsibility to a foreign regulator.”
“Parents across Ireland expect their Government to put Irish children first. Instead, we are told that platforms specifically designed to attract and engage young children fall outside our online safety rules.”
“I have consistently raised child protection issues in the Dáil because the safety of Ireland’s most vulnerable children must be a priority. It is simply intolerable to allow gaming platforms to have what amounts to free unregulated abusive access to children.”
“The Government must immediately include online gaming platforms, especially those with a documented history of verifiable threats to children, within the scope of the Online Safety Code. It must strengthen oversight mechanisms for platforms operating in or targeting the Irish market, and work to ensure real-time enforcement and sanctions.”
“The bottom line is this; there should no safe hiding spaces for child abusers in either the online world or the offline world,” concluded Deputy Nolan.
In its statement to Prime Time last year, Roblox said “protecting children is a top priority.” It also confirmed that its teams have investigated the examples sent by Prime Time, and “removed or suspended content that did not meet our standards”.