Shortly after Instagram was banned nationwide due to concerns about minors being used by inappropriate sexual content, Turkey banned the well-known video game platform Roblox, according to Türkiye Today.

Following an inquiry by the chief public prosecutors’ office, the Turkiye Directorate of Communications blamed the “promotion of homosexuality” and Roblox’s virtual in-game currency, which provided incentives for children, as contributing factors to the nationwide prohibitions.

Turkey’s Minister of Justice Yilmaz Tunç defended the ban on “abuse of children” and other negative developmental behaviors in an official government statement, stating the nation would never tolerate such actions.

Turkey suspended Instagram five days ago in response to a dispute over content that featured Hamas imagery. Fahrettin Altun, the head of communications for Turkey, claimed in a post on X that the social media site deliberately blocked users from expressing sympathy for the recently deceased Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Previously, social media and websites that share videos were prohibited in Turkey. Due to worries over national security, it prohibited YouTube and Twitter in 2014. Following an earthquake last year, it momentarily suspended Twitter as well.

Roblox has received complaints about child exploitation before

Since Roblox is used regularly by 75% of kids in the US between the ages of 9 and 12, there have been previous accusations about child exploitation on the video game platform. It was hit with a lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of parents, accusing it of misleading advertising and abusing child labor.

The corporation was sued in 2022 together with Discord, Meta, and Snap for allegedly facilitating the financial and sexual exploitation of a 10-year-old girl.

Roblox released a statement in reaction to the announcement of the Turkish ban, stating that it has “spent almost 20 years,” making the website “one of the safest,” especially for the younger users.