Turkey wants to ban Minecraft
Blocked.
Turkey's Family and Social Policies Ministry is seeking a ban on Minecraft.
The government agency has investigated the game after claims that it encouraged children to act violently towards in-game enemies and animals.
A report also warned that children who played the multiplayer online sandbox were at risk of "social isolation".
Minecraft's constructive elements were praised, but its label as a game for children meant that the ability to kill creatures means that the government felt it necessary to investigate.
"Minecraft is enjoyed by many players in a wide variety of ways," a spokesperson for developer Mojang told GamesBeat.
"Many enjoy the creative freedom that's presented by Minecraft and its tools, some are more interested by the opportunity to explore a landscape without boundaries and to go on exciting adventures with friends. We encourage players to cooperate in order to succeed, whether they're building, exploring, or adventuring.
"The world of Minecraft can be a dangerous place: it's inhabited by scary, genderless monsters that come out at night. It might be necessary to defend against them to survive. If people find this level of fantasy conflict upsetting, we would encourage them to play in Creative Mode, or to enable the Peaceful setting. Both of these options will prevent monsters from appearing in the world."
Turkey is not known for banning games, but its government does censor the country's internet access. Blocked pages include the homepage of atheist Richard Dawkins, notorious imageboard 4chan and Wikipedia articles on human genitalia.
More than 67,000 websites are blocked in total. The entirety of YouTube has been banned on several occasions.
