CAIRO, Feb 2 — Egyptian authorities have officially blocked the online gaming platform Roblox, citing concerns over content that officials say promotes harmful behaviour among children, Anadolu Ajansı reported, citing the Youm7 newspaper.
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation's deputy head Essam al-Amir said a decision had been issued to block the popular electronic game.
He was speaking during a session of the Senate to discuss the risks associated with children’s use of mobile phones and digital applications.
The council had recommended taking action to block websites that promote “deviant behaviour or facilitate its spread”, as well as platforms that broadcast electronic games encouraging violence.
al-Amir added that the council is coordinating with the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to implement the technical measures required to enforce the ban.
The move by Egypt follows similar actions in the region. In August and September last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman imposed restrictions on Roblox following warnings about potential risks to children.
Internationally, Roblox has faced mounting scrutiny. In August, the American state of Louisiana filed a lawsuit against Roblox, accusing the company of facilitating child exploitation. The BBC reported Roblox as rejecting the allegations as “false”.
Roblox is a free, interactive gaming platform created nearly two decades ago that has become highly popular among children and teenagers worldwide.
Its central feature is enabling users to “design their own virtual worlds” with simple programming tools, embark on adventures, play together, and interact in real time across borders.
In May, the United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper reported that the game has drawn around 85 million users, 40 per cent of whom are under 13.
In 2023 alone, over 13,000 cases of child exploitation were recorded on the platform in the United States (US), with 1,200 official reports submitted to Roblox about abuse cases.
In 2024, Bloomberg reported that the US police had arrested at least 24 individuals since 2018 on charges related to kidnapping or mistreating people they met or lured through Roblox.
In August of that year, Roblox said that its average daily active users reached 111.8 million, who sent 6.1 billion chat messages and uploaded their creations to the service.
The global video games market continues to expand rapidly, with more than 3.4 billion players and app users and an estimated value of nearly US$200 billion (RM788.4 billion), according to unofficial 2024 statistics.
