Update: Iraq bans Roblox over child safety concerns

• Officials said that the game’s content was incompatible with Iraq’s social values and traditions.
• The communications ministry said a study found security, social, and behavioural risks linked to the game.
• Iraq joins Turkey, Oman, China, and Qatar in restricting Roblox to protect children from harmful content.

Iraq has banned user-generated games platform Roblox over child safety concerns. 

As reported by Reuters, the Iraqi government said the Roblox ban was imposed because its chat features exposed children to exploitation and cyber-extortion.

Moreover, it said that the game’s content was incompatible with the country’s social values and traditions.

Iraq’s communications ministry stated the nationwide Roblox ban followed a study and field monitoring that identified multiple security, social, and behavioural risks linked to the game.

Update: A Roblox spokesperson has issued the following statement on the ban to PocketGamer.biz:

"Safety is a top priority for Roblox and we work diligently to create a positive and civil environment that respects different cultural values and allows people to create, play and learn," said a Roblox spokesperson.

"We strongly contest recent claims made by the Iraqi authorities, which we believe to be based on an outdated understanding of our platform and are not reflective of our ongoing collaborations with various regional authorities aimed at strengthening protections for users across the Middle East.

"As part of our ongoing safety commitments, earlier this year, we took the proactive step to temporarily suspend certain communication features, such as in-game chat. This applies to all users in Arabic speaking countries in the Middle East region, including Iraq where this feature is not available. Claims that it is somehow being misused are therefore inaccurate."

The company further stated that it isactively reaching out to Iraqi authorities to clarify misunderstandings about its platform and hopes to engage in dialogue to resolve the issue and restore access in Iraq.

Not the first of many 

Iraq joins countries such as Turkey, Oman, China, and Qatar in banning Roblox over child safety concerns, with authorities citing the need to shield children from harmful content.

Last month, Kuwait’s telecom regulator CITRA temporarily blocked Roblox following complaints that the platform contained content harmful to children’s safety.

In July 2025, Roblox rolled out new safety tools, including Trusted Connections for users aged 13 and up. The following month, it open-sourced Sentinel, an AI system that scans billions of chat messages daily to detect grooming and child exploitation. 

Roblox claimed Sentinel has helped identify 1,200 potential child abuse cases reported to the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children this year.