The British government is considering introducing a new law that would ban minors under the age of 16 from interacting with strangers in games such as Fortnite and Minecraft. The proposal follows the protection measures for minors previously introduced by many countries on social platforms and aims to further standardize social functions in gaming platforms.
It is reported that the main goal of the bill under consideration is to restrict social media functions for minors, including mechanisms such as infinite scrolling and automatic playback. At the same time, the bill pays special attention to the free interaction between minors and strangers on gaming platforms. Currently, popular games like Roblox and Minecraft don’t have broad, unified rules around age limits. British Children's Commissioner Rachel de Souza said that video games are a key area of focus for this bill because many young children spend more time on games than on social media.
The UK’s new proposal closely follows related bans that have been implemented or are being advanced in many countries and regions. The Australian government took the lead in introducing a comprehensive ban on social media for minors, prohibiting children under the age of 16 from registering accounts on many social platforms. New York State also announced the "Children's Online Safety Act" in early May this year, requiring all online platforms with chat functions to conduct age verification. As of now, the British government has not disclosed the specific implementation details and expected time of the ban.
Facing increasing legal litigation and regulatory pressure, many gaming and social platforms have begun to take proactive measures to avoid legal disputes. The "Call of Duty" series has added age verification requirements in July 2025. Players of "Black Ops 6" and "War Zone" need to confirm their date of birth before they can play.