The year of 2025 has seen multiple platforms creating stricter age-verification measures to protect children from harmful content on the platform. The most recent example is for Steam in the UK, that has recently made a post detailing the new requirements going forward in accordance with the UK Online Safety Act. To access mature content in the future, users will need to log in to accounts with valid credit card information entered. Because individuals cannot obtain a credit card until the age of 18, the intention of the new policy is to restrict access to mature content to those who should not view it.

This change in policy has sparked conversation and controversy among users in social media platforms such as Reddit following its announcement, however. As the update indicates a movement toward more readily sharing personal information, it could put individuals in danger of theft or fraud. Others have brought to light that Steam’s new policy is a compromise, given that it does not require formal identification, and thus serves its intended purpose as well as it could. The Steam announcement supports this by clarifying that the credit card information used to verify age is under the same privacy protections as the information used for purchases on the platform.

Another worry that many users have regarding Steam’s new announcement in the UK is if it will be effective, with many claiming that diligent parenting is the only way to truly protect children from harmful content they are not meant to engage with. The Steam post assures users that shared accounts will be less likely to be used to circumvent the restrictions due to the credit card information doubling as a payment method. Given that the change is only in the UK at the moment, many gamers also wonder if Steam will make the change consistent across countries or if other companies will follow their example. Only time will tell if these new measures prove to be effective in their goal and safe to the privacy of Steam’s users.