Roblox gets banned indefinitely in Turkey over “child exploitation”
Roblox/DexertoThe Turkish government has blocked access to Roblox for all users and creators over “child exploitation” concerns.
Roblox has been the subject of much criticism for not protecting its largely youthful user base. The site has been criticized for its poor safety safeguards against mature material, as well as for benefitting from child labor since many of the popular mini-games that drive the platform’s popularity are created by young creators.
Furthermore, the platform has faced a class action lawsuit for failing to compensate consumers who spent Robux on virtual objects that were later deleted (moderated) from the Roblox platform.
RobloxAs part of the deal, Roblox will establish a $10 million settlement fund from which customers will immediately get a Robux credit to their Roblox account.
Now, the Turkish government believes Roblox is “exploiting children” with illegitimate practices and has issued a nationwide ban on the platform, blocking access for all users and creators indefinitely.
Expanding on the ban, a Turkish Directorate of Communications official commented: “Roblox ban was primarily motivated by reports of inappropriate sexual content on the platform, which was perceived as exploiting children.”
Further claims stated, according to Turkish media, that Roblox hosted virtual parties promoting pedophilia and that “robux,” the platform’s virtual currency, was being distributed by bot accounts to encourage children’s involvement in these activities, and excess presence of gambling sites and their predatory tactics.
Roblox has since issued a statement to BBC saying: “We are aware that Roblox is currently unavailable in Turkey and we have contacted the relevant authorities to find out why and ensure we are back online as soon as possible.”
In the wake of the nationwide ban on Roblox, both the player base and creators who profit from their games on the platform are expressing significant concern over the future of their economy, which is now indefinitely locked behind the platform. This includes worries over creator payouts and the value of Robux, the in-game currency, that users currently hold in their accounts.