Minecraft's latest update includes enforcement of the UK's new Online Safety Act 2023... and it is a disaster.

Let us start out by saying to our players and their families: If you get into Minecraft and find that you can not use the chat, it is NOT because you did anything wrong.

On the surface, this new law and its implementation seems well intentioned, but it has been mishandled and enforced in the worst possible ways. This is supposed to only affect people in the UK, but we are seeing players in New Zealand, Japan, Germany, South Africa, and literally everywhere else affected by this. They are signing on and discovering that they are locked out of the server chat. And not just children! EVERYONE. Also, it's not just people using the latest update, it's all of Minecraft.

I am the creator and owner of Autcraft. I am a 50-year-old man in Canada, on a server located in Canada, that is set to an older version of Minecraft, and I logged in to discover that I could not use the chat in my own server.

There was no warning that this was coming, and if there was, 99% of people didn't see it or understand how it would affect them. There's no clear information given as to why people cannot chat. There's no information given on how to get access back, and what is available is confusing and extremely complicated. People in Minecraft have to go to Xbox? And to the privacy sections? And to the parental control settings? And to the age verification section? And there's an app?

This is much worse than just losing access to chat. It's no exaggeration to say that some people, many people, depend on Autcraft for their very lives. They need that support. They need that safe space. Their only friends are there. The only place they feel like they can truly be themselves is on Autcraft. And with this latest update, they logged in to find that they've been silenced with no explanation, no answers, and no path to fixing it.

Many of those people leave, silently, lost, scared, worried that they did something wrong. They are worried that we hate them now. They're worried that they've lost the only place they've felt that they belong. These are autistic children and adults who fear confrontation, who cannott handle the weight of extreme guilt, who are terrified that they've just lost everything because they did something to deserve it.

It's not just Autcraft. People depend on their online communities and online friends in ways that impact them very deeply. Many servers are seeing low player counts across the board as people close their games and walk away. Those who aren't scared of why it happened are refusing to conform to the UK government, or any government, to hand over ID or verifying personal information simply to play a video game.

Ultimately, this solves nothing. Autcraft is focused on player safety, and we will be the first to say that this keeps no one safe. Children are already finding those settings, getting their parents to verify them, and finding ways around the system to get access again. Even before all of this, every single day, we've had parents asking us if we have a Discord server for their 6-year-old children to voice chat with people since they can't read or write very well. That is extremely dangerous, but they either don't know that or don't care. All of the laws, TOS, and restrictions in the world mean absolutely nothing if those children and their parents will just check whatever boxes they need to without reading or knowing anything to get their children back in contact with the world as quickly as possible anyway.

Real safety, real protection comes from education. It comes from warning labels, from clearly explaining the dangers, from showing people the risks, and from making sure that people understand that online gaming isn't the paradise that game makers would have you believe it is. Cigarette companies have had to start putting warning labels on their packaging. We feel, it's about time that online gaming does the same. Big, bold, very clear, very serious warning labels. Tell the players that bullies, trolls, predators, groomers, and dangerous people are out there. Stop babying children just because they're children. They want to be safe too, but they cannot be safe if no one tells them what can happen. Parents want to keep their children safe, but they can't do that if they don't know what the dangers are and how to protect them effectively.

We, at Autcraft, feel that not all of the blame for this can be put on Minecraft or Mojang. This trickles down from the top, starting with the UK government imposing its will on the entire world. Then Microsoft and Xbox with their absolutely terrible implementation of their security features and wide, vague, and complicated settings. Finally, comes Minecraft and Mojang for incorporating those Xbox features in the worst way possible.

Children need to be better protected. This is certain. Absolutely terrible and tragic crimes are being committed every day in online gaming, probably even in Minecraft itself. But people are not informed well enough about it. Instead, they are just locked out and told nothing.

This sudden and unexpected change and the terrible way they went about it in the name of safety isn't just terrible for business, this is terrible for human lives. Lives will be lost over this as players are locked out from their friends, from people who now feel like family, from their safe spaces, from the places where they finally found true belonging when the real world failed to give them any of that. This is not keeping them safe. This is putting lives in danger in the name of safety.

Autcraft does not approve of or endorse these changes. They're harmful and dangerous, and they protect no one. We are calling on the UK government, Microsoft, and Mojang to fix this immediately. 

The fact people can lose their lives because of a poor thought process by the UK government and execution of the process by Microsoft is just horrible. Me and my brother are not one bit in agreement with this decision 

tis very sad

Doesn't sound like we can change a law tho :/

In recent months, many Minecraft players have experienced problems using the chat feature due to new age-verification requirements introduced to comply with the United Kingdom's Online Safety Act. The purpose of these changes is to protect younger users online, but they have also caused frustration for many players. Some users who are over 18 years old or who live outside the UK have reported being unable to access chat despite not being the intended targets of the restrictions.

One of the main issues is that some Microsoft accounts may be incorrectly identified as belonging to minors or may require additional verification. As a result, players can lose access to text chat, multiplayer communication, and other social features. This can make it difficult to cooperate with teammates, participate in server communities, or simply talk with friends while playing.

Fortunately, there are several ways to solve this problem. Players should first check the date of birth associated with their Microsoft account and ensure that it is correct. They should also review their Xbox privacy and online safety settings to confirm that communication with other players is allowed. If the account is part of a family group, parental restrictions may need to be adjusted. Players in the UK may also need to complete Microsoft's age-verification process before chat features are restored.

While these changes were introduced to improve online safety, it is important that the verification systems work correctly so that adults and players outside the UK are not unfairly affected. By checking account settings and completing any required verification steps, most players should be able to regain access to Minecraft's chat features and continue enjoying multiplayer gameplay with their friends.

I have not been affected yet…. But i think i will soon