Roblox banned in Turkey over child ‘exploitation’ concerns

Online gaming platform Roblox has been banned nationwide in Turkey, with officials from Turkey’s Communications Directorate outlining a series of ongoing concerns about the popular game and how children are using it. Chief among these are concerns over alleged child exploitation fueled by reported sexual content on the platform, and allegations of pedophilia taking place online.

The step to ban Roblox This follows a similar ban on Instagram across Turkey, which was blocked five days earlier, reportedly without an official explanation or timeline.

RobloxThe recently imposed ban has been made somewhat clearer by an explanation given to Turkey Today by a spokesperson for the Türkiye Directorate of Communications. According to this spokesperson, the reason for the ban is fourfold.

Firstly, the government wants to prevent children from being exposed to adult content, as is claimed Roblox may occasionally provide this material to minors. Secondly, the Turkish Directorate of Communications has claimed that there are “proliferating reports of pedophilia” on the platform, and that it could be a “meeting place for pedophiles” due to the high number of children who Roblox.

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The company has also raised concerns that the game “provides incentives to children through virtual currency” and claims that bots regularly provide Robux (in-game currency) to children, which could then encourage future purchases and potential gambling behavior.

Turkey’s Directorate of Communications has again raised doubts about the ability of Roblox‘s development team to remove inappropriate content Roblox“because the game is incredibly big. It is claimed that the platforms’ oversight mechanisms are “inadequate” to address the reported issues faced by young players – and it is largely for this reason that the game has now been banned in Turkey.

“It is everyone’s duty to care for, protect and support what is best for our children, the guardians of our future,” said Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, as stated in a report by the Turkish Justice Minister, PC gamer.

In response to the ban, which was apparently given before the Turkish Communications Directorate’s explanation to Turkey Todaythe Roblox Corporation told BBC Turkey: “We are aware that Roblox is currently unavailable in Turkey and we have contacted the relevant authorities to find out why and to ensure we are back online as soon as possible.”