UK may ban children from speaking to strangers in games

Kanishka Narayan, the online safety minister, has suggested a proposed social media ban for teenagers could be expanded to include online games such as Fortnite and Roblox, noting that Australia's comparable ban does not cover gaming platforms. His primary concern is what he called "stranger pairing"—contact between children and adults they do not know.

Narayan said the issue came up mostly in the context of gaming platforms and that "That will weigh quite significantly in my mind as we think about how we stop some of the most egregious harms for young people." Rachel De Souza, the Children's Commissioner for England, echoed those worries and highlighted boys as particularly vulnerable because many spend hours a day gaming rather than using social media.

"Boys often aren't on social media," she said. "They're often spending three or four hours a day gaming.

United Kingdom, England

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