Government in Turkey Considering Minecraft Ban

The Turkish government is considering a ban on the popular sandbox game Minecraft.

A report was issued by the Family and Social Policies Ministry that states Minecraft is bad for children as it promotes violence. However, the report began life as an investigation into how Minecraft promotes violence against women, but has seemingly shifted focus.

It also confusingly states children might suffer from social isolation, whilst simultaneously putting them at risk of bullying from the multiplayer aspect.

The report has been quoted as saying:

Although the game can be seen as encouraging creativity in children by letting them build houses, farmlands and bridges, mobs [hostile creatures] must be killed in order to protect these structures. In short, the game is based on violence.

It would be a blow against Minecraft developers Mojang - and subsequently their new owners Microsoft - to be banned in an entire country, especially as a book based on the game is the highest selling childrens book in Turkey. 

Of course, this being the internet, Twitter amongst other outlets have labeled this a conspiracy, with a ban being sought under false pretenses. As pigs are present in the game, and Turkey is an Islamic country and so pork is not to be eaten, some feel this is the real reason. It is not helped by the fact the report mentions that children might think "torturing animals" is alright, if they play Minecraft.

The Family and Social Policies Ministry, and in fact the Turkish government, would not be able to ban the game outright. However, they will seek approval from a court, which would be able to enforce the ban. As Turkey has previously banned Twitter, Facebook and more than 67,000 websites, a ban on a videogame isn't out of the realms of possibility.

Although several videogames have been banned in Germany and Australia amongst other countries, this would be the first instance of Minecraft being one of them, and the first one ever banned in Turkey.