Amidst an ongoing ban on Instagram, Turkish authorities announced Wednesday (August 8) the blocking of Roblox, an online platform that allows users to create games and play one another.
The ban was instituted by a judge in the southern city of Adana on the basis of “national security and protection of public order.’
Wednesday’s announcement was the third social media ban so far in August, following the high-profile banning of Instagram as well as Wattpad, an online platform for publishing user-written stories.
Announcement from Communication Ministry
In an announcement from Aslan Değirmenci, the Digital Media Coordinator from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Ministry of Communication, several reasons were identified for the Roblox ban including:
“Sharing of posts that could lead to child abuse, encouragement of homosexuality through virtual parties, and the encouragment of children to partake in these behaviors through the distribution of virtual money.”
Değirmenci also stated that the inability to moderate content on the platform was another reason for the block.
Turkey’s Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç also released a statement in support of the ban.
Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu spoke out against the ban, calling the measure ‘incomprehensible’, especially after the blocking of Instagram.
Instagram has been banned in Turkey since last Friday (August 2), due to the alleged censorship of content by the platform related to the recent assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Medyascope'un günlük e-bülteni
Andaç'a abone olun
Editörlerimizin derlediği öngörüler, analizler, Türkiye’yi ve dünyayı şekillendiren haberler, Medyascope’un e-bülteni Andaç‘la her gün mail kutunuzda.
By Leo Kendrick
