Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation said on Wednesday it had begun implementing a ban on the online gaming platform Roblox, effective immediately, following coordination with the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
Roblox, founded in 2004, is one of the world’s largest online gaming and creation platforms, with more than 80 million users globally, over half of them under 18. The platform allows users to create their own virtual worlds and experiences or share games designed by other users, giving it a social character similar to social media platforms.
The decision follows growing parliamentary debate in Egypt over children’s exposure to online platforms and mobile phone use.
Last month, the Senate’s Education, Scientific Research, Communications, and Information Technology Committee recommended that the media regulator block Roblox, based on a proposal submitted by Senator Walaa Hermas.
This week, the Senate discussed two requests for a general debate about drafting legislation to protect children from the dangers of mobile phone use, days after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directive during the Police Day celebration on Jan. 24.
Speaking about the risks of social media, El-Sisi said, “I want to remind myself, the government, and even parliament in Egypt that the Australians and the English have issued legislation to limit or prevent the use of phones up to a certain age.”
During the Senate session on Sunday, Essam El-Amir, deputy head of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, announced work was underway to ban Roblox, in addition to two other websites that “encourage young people to cohabit,” as he put it. He said the watchdog has statistics showing that about 30 million young men and women in Egypt use the two sites that promote cohabitation.
In the same session, psychiatrist Senator Mohab Megahed called for parental awareness programs. He urged the telecom regulator to finish the “children’s SIM card” project that limits minors’ use of digital content, stressing that “the solution is not legislation alone.”
Egyptian Social Democratic Party Senate member Mohamed Taha Aliwa asked about the alternatives available to children, pointing to the absence of sports and drama in schools, and a lack of youth clubs. Meanwhile, Senator Amina El-Naqqash of the Tagammu Party drew attention to the loss of public parks and their conversion into cafes and restaurants.
Games on the Roblox platformEgypt is not the first. In August 2025, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit accusing Roblox of facilitating child exploitation, saying the company makes it easier to distribute child sexual abuse material and exploit minors.
Roblox rejected the accusation that it “would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation,” saying this “is simply untrue.”
In a statement, it added: “No system is perfect, and bad actors adapt to evade detection,” saying it works “continuously” to promote a safe internet environment on the platform.
After the Supreme Council for Media Regulation’s decision, Egypt joins countries that have imposed bans or restrictions on the gaming platform, including China, Turkey, Russia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, and Algeria.
