KUWAIT CITY, Aug 21: Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) has officially announced the temporary blocking of the game ROBLOX in Kuwait. This decision is based on its legal authority to protect users, particularly children. The authority explained that the move comes in response to complaints from parents and relevant organizations about the risks the game poses to children’s safety, including exposure to unsafe behavior, electronic exploitation, harmful conduct, inappropriate content, and unsafe purchasing practices. The block is temporary, pending the completion of negotiations with the game’s operator and verification of their commitment to removing any offensive or dangerous content and implementing adequate child protection measures, before reconsidering lifting the block. Earlier, several citizens and public benefit organizations had petitioned CITRA to ban the game “Roblox” due to its negative impact on children.

According to informed sources, the demands stem from the game’s widespread popularity among children, raising huge concerns among many parents and educators about its inappropriate content and harmful practices that threaten children’s safety. They explained that the game provides a fertile environment for harassers who exploit children, facilitated by the ease of communication and interaction within the platform. It also includes content that promotes homosexuality and intellectual deviations, and encourages the adoption of negative values that conflict with religious and moral principles. It is worth noting that several Gulf countries, including Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman, have banned the game. China and Turkey have also imposed similar bans.

By Mohammed Al-Enezi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff