While video games can be seen as more of an adult thing these days thanks to the large focus on titles designed for older audiences, the medium remains as popular with children as ever, with the likes of Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox drawing in huge crowds of young gamers. Unfortunately, this brings the risk of kids being exposed to unsavory types online, but it’s a problem that US lawmakers are now calling on the makers of these games to address.

In written letters sent to the chief executives of twelve of the largest gaming companies, including Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Activision, and Epic Games, three members of Congress implore them to make changes. Specifically, as first reported by The Verge, they ask for these companies to adopt measures set to be implemented in the UK designed to better protect children online.

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Said measures are part of legislation called the Age Appropriate Design Code, set to go into effect starting next month. The AADC consists of new rules intended to encourage online platforms, including games like Roblox and Minecraft, to be designed with the “best interests” of children in mind. These rules push to provide stricter privacy settings and policies for kids, which can prevent their personal information from falling into the hands of online predators and child groomers.

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Currently, the US has legislation designed to protect children’s privacy with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), but this only applies to children 12 and under, whereas the AADC applies to minors under the age of 18. With teenagers just as likely to be targeted by predators in many cases, there is definitely room for improvement, and the members of Congress urge the companies to follow the AADC’s example, stating that it is “imperative that Congress acts with urgency to enact a strong privacy law for children and teens in the 21st century.”

In addition to the problem of predatory people, the Congress members are also urging them to tackle the issue of predatory microtransactions. Another aspect of the AADC they hope to see repeated in the US is the restriction on “nudging techniques” often used to encourage players to spend more in a game. They state that children are “uniquely vulnerable” to the “manipulation and peer pressure” these can cause, which, in the worst cases, can result in kids spending thousands of dollars on microtransactions without their parents’ knowledge.

Also touched upon are loot boxes, which have come under increased scrutiny from multiple governments around the world in recent years. The blind-bag nature of these microtransactions have led many to associate loot boxes with gambling, which can be problematic considering the number of games marketed towards kids that feature them. With multiple countries pushing for varying degrees of regulation for loot boxes, it’s possible that the AADC’s protections may eventually come stateside in some shape or form. Whether it will be thanks to the Congress members’ pleading, however, remains to be seen.

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Source: Congress of the United States, The Verge