Egyptian regulators have banned Roblox, a popular children’s video game, Bloomberg reports. The nation’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation is coordinating with the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority on the decision to ensure its enforcement.
The state-owned outlet reported that Senator Walaa Hermas Radwandid had proposed regulation of the platform to “protect children’s moral and educational values.” The senator outlined his concerns with the nature of the Roblox platform, including the ability to communicate directly with strangers as well as “potential psychological and behavioral effects on young users.” In a statement to Bloomberg, Roblox stated that it has “built rigorous safeguards that go beyond those of many other platforms.”
Egypt joins others including Iraq, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and the UAE that have banned or heavily restricted the US-based gaming platform; Turkey and Russia also enacted blanket bans on Roblox recently, citing the “promotion of homosexuality” and “LGBT propaganda.”
Roblox has a significant presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The company’s most recent economic impact report claims it added $15 million to total GDP across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar and the UAE between 2021 and 2024.
Roblox recently tightened its age verification requirements for certain in-game features following pressure from numerous US state attorneys general over child safety, though the new system is reportedly a mess.
All of this comes against the backdrop of globally internet restrictions, especially for social media services. A raft of nations including Australia, Spain and Denmark have moved to ban social media entirely for children.
