Roblox has responded to news the government of Türkiye has banned access to the platform in order to “ensure the protection of our children”.
News of the ban was shared yesterday by the country’s Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç in a lengthy statement on social media site X.
Tunç didn’t provide a specific reason for the ban beyond it being “due to the content that could lead to the exploitation of children” and that the country is “obliged to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of our children”.
As Türkiye Today reports, the ban was primarily motivated by reports of inappropriate sexual content on Roblox and exploitation of children.
“We’ve spent almost 20 years making Roblox one of the safest online platforms for our users, particularly the youngest, and ensuring the safety of our users is at the core of everything we do,” said a Roblox spokesperson in a statement to Eurogamer.
“We respect the laws and regulations in countries where we operate and share local lawmakers’ commitment to children. We look forward to working together to ensure Roblox is back online in Türkiye as soon as possible.”
The ban arrives five days after Instagram was similarly banned, due to accusations from a senior aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of censorship of posts related to the death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. “We will continue to defend freedom of expression against platforms that serve global exploitation and injustice,” said Fahrettin Altun, head of the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications.
The banning of both platforms has fuelled debates on government control over online content.
Back in 2021, a report by People Make Games accused Roblox of exploiting children as young game developers.
Earlier this year, Roblox Studio head Stefano Corazza discussed the platform with Eurogamer and its reputation of being exploitative of young developers. In a follow-up statement, Roblox clarified the company does not hire minors.