Minecraft Ban Reports Investigated By Microsoft

Minecraft ban reports investigated by Microsoft By Kevin Rawlinson BBC News

11 March 2015

Microsoft Minecraft, the owner of Minecraft, is investigating reports that suggest the Turkish government is planning to ban the game. The BBC is aware.

According local media, a study by the Turkish Family and Social Policies Ministry found that the game promoted violence.

There were conflicting reports about what action the government was planning to take as a result.

Some said it would request an appeals court to ban on the game. Others suggested it would ask Microsoft to make changes.

According to the Haberturk newspaper, the ministry's report said: "Although the game can be seen as a way of encouraging imagination in children through building houses, farmlands and bridges mobs [hostile creatures] must be killed to safeguard these structures. The game is built on violence.

'Social isolation'

The report stated that some children might confuse Minecraft with the real world and be misled into believing that torturing animals would cause no pain, according to the newspaper.

It said that the report was based on the experience of a nine year-old and suggested that playing Minecraft could lead "social isolation".

Haberturk reported that the ministry's legal affairs department was given the task of taking the first steps to ban Minecraft.

However, according to Fatih Oke, a spokesman for the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC, a ban was "out of the issue".

Mr. Oke told Christian Science Monitor: "There will be no ban.

"The game is not being banned and will not be banned. Minecraftservers.fun

The Family and Social Policy Ministry doesn't have the authority to prohibit any product.

"I understand that this is what's been said in the Turkish media however, it is not true.

"The ministry cannot work with complaints.

"In this instance, I was told that there were many complaints from parents about Minecraft's influence on children.

"The ministry's mission is to spread awareness."

The government wouldn't be able to ban the game unilaterally. the game, but it would have to convince the court to make this decision.

While Turkey is not renowned for its ban on computer games some websites have been taken down recently.

In the past year access to both Twitter and YouTube was temporarily shut down, while Facebook was forced to block certain pages believed to insult the Prophet Muhammad in January of this year.

'Creative freedom'

Mojang, the company that makes Minecraft under Microsoft's umbrella, has declined to comment on the reports.

He stated: "Minecraft is enjoyed by many players in a wide variety of ways.

"Many enjoy the creative freedom that's presented by Minecraft and its tools, but some prefer the chance to explore an unexplored landscape and to go on exciting adventures with their friends.

"We encourage players to work together for success regardless of whether they're building, exploring, or adventuring.

"The world of Minecraft can be a dangerous world, populated by terrifying, genderless monsters that come out at the dark of night.

"It might be necessary for them to live.

"If people find this level of fantasy conflict to be disturbing, we would encourage them to play in Creative Mode, or to enable the Peaceful setting.

"Both of these options will prevent creatures from appearing across the globe."

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