Minecraft Ban Reports Investigated By Microsoft

From E-learn Portal
Jump to: navigation, search

Minecraft ban reports are being investigated by Microsoft By Kevin Rawlinson BBC News



11 March 2015



Microsoft Minecraft's owner is investigating reports that the Turkish government is planning to ban the game. The BBC knows.



A Turkish Family and Social Policies Ministry study said the game promoted violence according to local media.



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



Some have suggested that it will have a court order a ban on the game, and others suggested it would ask Microsoft to edit the game.



According to the Haberturk newspaper the report of the ministry reads: "Although the game can be viewed as encouraging imagination in children, by letting them build houses, farmlands and bridges mobs of hostile creatures must be killed in order to safeguard these structures. The game is based on violence.



'Social isolation'



The report also said that children might confuse Minecraft with reality and believe that torturing animals will not cause pain, the newspaper reported.



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 department's legal affairs division of the ministry had been instructed to take the first steps toward banning Minecraft.



According to Fatih Oke (a spokesperson for the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC), a ban is "out of the possibility".



Mr Oke said to Christian Science Monitor: "There is no ban.



"The game isn't being banned and will not be banned.



The Family and Social Policy Ministry is not a government department with that sort of authority to ban any product.



"I understand that this is what's been reported in the Turkish media, but it is incorrect.



"The ministry is not able to deal with complaints.



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



"The mission of this ministry is to increase awareness."



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



Although Turkey isn't known for banning computer gaming, there have been some websites that have been shut down in recent times.



Last year access to both Twitter and YouTube was temporarily shut down and Facebook was forced to block certain pages believed to be insulting to Prophet Muhammad in January this year.



'Creative freedom'



A spokesperson for Mojang who makes Minecraft under the Microsoft umbrella after the latter bought the game for $2.5bn (PS1.68bn) in September 2014, was unable to comment directly on the reports. minecraft servers



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



"While many people enjoy the artistic freedom Minecraft and its tools provide, others prefer the opportunity to explore a world without limits and share exciting adventures with their friends.



"We encourage players to collaborate to achieve success whether they're building, exploring or exploring.



"The world of Minecraft can be a risky place: it's inhabited by scary, genderless monsters that appear at the dark of night.



"It might be necessary to defend against them in order to live.



"If people find this level of fantasy conflict a bit disturbing, then we recommend that they utilize Creative Mode or to allow the Peaceful setting to be used.



"Both of these options will deter creatures from appearing across the world."



Facebook adheres to Turkey block



26 January 2015



Microsoft purchases Minecraft for $2.5bn



Turkish officials lift ban on Twitter



3 April 2014