Turkish kids take over streets to protest Roblox ban
Roblox / Twitter: OnliahmetRoblox kids have taken over the streets of Turkey in protest as the nationwide ban on the platform is imminent.
Last week, Turkey announced a nationwide ban on Roblox, blocking thousands of users from accessing the platform. The ban was imposed because the platform was reportedly linked to “child exploitation” and “reports of inappropriate sexual content on the platform.”
Prior to restricting access to Roblox, the country banned Instagram as well. However, since the restriction, Roblox has informed its community that it is in discussions with the Turkish authorities to lift the ban and bring the platform back online.
However, while lifting might take several months, players, particularly kids, are extremely unhappy and disappointed. The majority of Roblox’s users are kids, and in Turkey, some have taken to the streets to protest the ban.
In a TikTok video posted by user Onliahmet, a group of kids can be seen wandering through Turkey’s streets, screaming “Roblox Geri Gelsin” (which translates to “Roblox Come Back”) with their hands raised.
This sparked a movement online where users from other countries joined in to coin the term #FreeRoblox. One such player said, “They real for that.” Another chimed in, “Free Roblox, bro did nothing.”
Not everyone was on board with the protests though, “Protests over Roblox is something I didn’t expect to see today.” A similar user chimed in, “Damn actual protesting about a video game is wild.”
Regardless of the ban, the matter of in-game currency and creator compensation remains within the player community, and both the Turkish government and Roblox have yet to provide an update on this.
Until then, some overseas users have recommended that affected players utilize a VPN to retrieve their info or rewards from the source. It is still uncertain whether Roblox will be accessible in Turkey using VPN.