ALBAWABA - Popular online gaming platform Roblox is facing a worldwide backlash over child safety concerns, with social media pressures leading to bans in various countries, most recently Qatar and, reportedly, Jordan.
Most of the countries mentioned in this article have banned Roblox to protect their youth and children from potentially explicit, harmful content, exploitation, and concerns about in-game currency spending.
The latest country to ban the gaming platform is Qatar. The government was compelled to ban the game due to child safety concerns, following pressure from local users on social media.
According to several reports, Jordan is reportedly following Qatar's decision to ban Roblox for the same reasons. However, the ban seems yet to take action as users can still download the game on online stores such as the Google Play Store.
Which countries banned Roblox, is the US next?
Turkey has been very careful about its children's activity online, and Roblox is no different. The government banned the game in August 2024 over concerns about child exploitation, inappropriate content, and poor moderation.
Additionally, Oman and China also banned the gaming platform around 2022 due to similar concerns and China's well-known strict online restrictions.
As concerns from parents and adults grow, Roblox is facing calls for a ban in the US as well. However, the US government is yet to respond to the calls.
The gaming platform also recently sparked outrage after banning "Schlep," a "vigilante" YouTuber who has been operating as a self-proclaimed "predator hunter" in hopes of protecting the children playing. He claimed to have allegedly helped in arresting six predators before Roblox's team banned him for violating its guidelines.
(Roblox Corporation)
The legal team issued a statement saying that "Schlep" violated their community guidelines for impersonating a child and sharing personal user data.
This caught the attention of "To Catch a Predator" American television presenter Chris Hansen, who recently took to social media, stating in a video that he's taking the matter into his own hands with the help of Schlep. Hansen added, "We are deep into it, I've already interviewed law enforcement investigators, and victims of this horrible activity."
Schlep responded to Hansen on X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "Thanks chris, you’re going to help so many kids doing this."
