Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Policies has formally submitted a request on a ban on Minecraft, prompting Mojang to share a response.
The report is disappointing and unsurprising, claiming that it could confuse players between the game world and the real world, and prompt them to do things like attack and kill animals. They also have not-entirely unfounded concerns about social isolation and online bullying.
The request has to go through Turkey’s courts to be approved, but in the meantime, here’s Mojang’s response:
Many enjoy the creative freedom that’s presented by Minecraft and its tools, some are more interested by the opportunity to explore a landscape without boundaries and to go on exciting adventures with friends. We encourage players to cooperate in order to succeed, whether they’re building, exploring, or adventuring. The world of Minecraft can be a dangerous place: it’s inhabited by scary, genderless monsters that come out at night. It might be necessary to defend against them to survive. If people find this level of fantasy conflict upsetting, we would encourage them to play in Creative Mode, or to enable the Peaceful setting. Both of these options will prevent monsters from appearing in the world.
