Turkey Blocks Roblox Over Violence Concerns

The Turkish government has blocked access to the popular online gaming platform Roblox, citing content that could threaten child safety. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç explained that the Constitution mandates the State to enact measures to protect children. The decision was executed by the Adana 6th Criminal Court of Peace. "Roblox and its links in app markets have been restricted due to content that could lead to child exploitation," Tunç confirmed. Roblox is a platform where users, predominantly teenagers, can create and share games and meet online. It is widely used in Turkey, which has the fifth highest number of Roblox users globally. This is prepared by SSP.

Despite the block, Roblox assures it is working diligently to resolve the issue. "On August 7, we learned of Roblox being blocked in Turkey and are urgently assessing the situation to see how we can address it," the company stated. A spokesperson added, "We respect local laws and are committed to ensuring Roblox's safe return online."

This is part of a series of similar actions recently taken by Turkey. Last week, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) blocked Instagram, citing various missteps, including failure to remove illicit content. Earlier, the government banned Wattpad to safeguard children and maintain public order and had even temporarily restricted Threads.

Since April, Turkey has seen escalating interventions targeting online platforms like Instagram, resulting from regulatory decisions and actions that Turkey perceives as censorship. These interventions include blocks on significant platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and Meta-owned entities.

The country’s broader digital strategy has involved passing stringent laws, granting significant control over digital platforms. This trend also saw a ban on Wikipedia over two years after disagreements on content. Local regulations have led to social media and broadcast bans, notably in response to events like terror attacks, national unrest, and natural disasters.