Türkiye bans game platform Roblox over child abuse concerns

ANKARA

Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has announced the closure of the online gaming platform Roblox due to content that could potentially lead to child abuse.

The decision, which affects a platform used by millions of children, took effect on Aug. 7 by a court in the southern province of Adana as part of an ongoing investigation.

"According to our constitution, our state is obliged to take the necessary measures to protect our children," Tunç stated, without specifying when the platform might be reopened.

"Türkiye is among the leading countries that closely monitor global developments and utilize technology in the best possible way. However, the misuse of technology is utterly unacceptable," Tunç asserted.

The closure came as another ban on social media platform Instagram continued for seven days yesterday.

Türkiye blocked Instagram on Aug. 2 because it did not comply with the country's "catalog of crimes,” according to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). These include offenses such as child sexual abuse, encouragement of suicide and insulting modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Turkish authorities and Instagram officials recently held a meeting on the ban, but no agreement has been reached.

Daily Milliyet reported that one of the discussion topics was Türkiye’s request for the algorithmic suppression of posts perceived to support PKK and FETÖ terrorist groups.

According to Turkish media, over 50 million of the country's 85 million population are Instagram users.