Australia’s online world is no longer an optional risk. It’s the default arena for young people’s social lives, identity experiments, peer pressure, and – ominously – mental-health damage. So, when our government steps up and says, “Yes, we’ll regulate platforms such as Kick and Reddit,” I applaud it. Finally, someone is saying that if you create a place where kids gather, we have a right to ask: “What are the rules? What are the risks? And what are you doing about them?”
Why Kick and Reddit deserve regulation
Let’s be clear: Kick is not just “another live-streaming site”; it’s a platform where anonymous chat, unmoderated comments, and paid-for “raids” can breed harmful behaviours. Reddit is not simply benign “forum talk”; it hosts adult sub-communities where myths, self-harm encouragement, extremism, and exploitative content go unchecked.
The government is right to say: if you provide a public stage, you bear public responsibility. Too many platforms have enjoyed “wild west” conditions: minimal age checks, minimal moderation, and maximum profit. Meanwhile, kids are sinking into anxiety, self-harm, distorted body image, addiction to “likes” and “views”. I’ve watched it for three decades. The lights are flashing red. (Central News: Read here »)
Regulating Kick and Reddit isn’t about censorship—it’s about accountability. If you open the door to children, you should not slam the door on safety. The legislation must ensure platforms:
• verify ages properly and effectively;
• moderate high-risk content (self-harm, exploitative streaming, sexualisation);
• ensure privacy, but not at the cost of kid-protection.
So why is Roblox still outside the fire-hose?
Here’s the kicker: for many children, one of the most dangerous digital environments remains unregulated: Roblox. It’s marketed as “safe for kids”. It looks like a game. But the lines between play, social chat, live micro-transactions, user-generated content, and peer pressure are blurred. Let’s unpack the risks:
• Millions of under-16s are on Roblox. It’s their social space, entertainment space, chat space.
• They encounter unmoderated “rooms”, user-generated games with scant oversight, avatars that push cosmetic purchases, peer-led pressure: “buy this, join this, get likes”.
• The environment conditions them for the same problematic behaviours we see on “adult” platforms—addiction, comparison, social isolation.
• Yet current policy treats Roblox like a toy, not a platform. It’s outside the regulatory gaze.
That’s unacceptable. If the message is “we’ll regulate platforms that influence young minds”, then leaving Roblox exempt is a glaring inconsistency. It’s like regulating violent video games for adults but exempting candy-floss because kids “like it”.
We must match policy to reality.
To the policymakers: you’re on the right path. But take the next step. The logic that brought Kick and Reddit into scrutiny must apply everywhere young people gather online—including “games” that double as social platforms. If you’re worried about over-reach, fine—let’s carefully carve definitions: “platforms where minors engage in chat/live transactions”, “user-generated content with peer network features”, “in-game monetisation targeted at children”. But carve them consistently, not with loopholes.
And to parents and educators, I say: regulators can legislate, but you still hold the frontline. Talk about online spaces not as “fun” or “harmless” but as social zones with rules. Ask children: “Who are you talking to? What are you buying? What are you doing for likes? How often do you stop?” Keep the conversation alive.
Because at the end of the day, the biggest risk isn’t the platform—it’s the young mind unprotected, unmonitored, thinking “this game/social space couldn’t hurt me”. It can. And unless we bring policy, platforms, and parenting into alignment, we’ll keep putting kids at risk.
Regulate the wild west. Level the playing field. Protect the young.
Australia is doing the right thing by calling out Kick and Reddit. Now let’s finish the job and include Roblox — because our kids’ safety doesn’t get exemptions just because the logo is cute.