The UK government is floating restrictions that could mute kids under 16 from chatting with strangers in Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and Discord as part of its broader push to copy Australia's under-16s social media ban.

Online safety minister Kanishka Narayan, fresh off a fact-finding trip Down Under, told The Sunday Times the "stranger pairing" problem—random matchmaking throwing adults and children into the same voice lobbies—surfaced mostly in gaming contexts and will factor heavily into any final rules. Platforms already rolled out age verification and parental controls under the existing Online Safety Act, yet ministers want to go further and potentially block unfiltered chat outright.

Community pushback on Reddit and X is predictable: some parents welcome the nanny-state hand, others call it another privacy nightmare that punishes everyone for the predators the industry has failed to police. No firm legislation yet—just the usual consultation theater with details promised later this year.