Banned and Blocked: How MENA governments are silencing Generation Z on Discord and Roblox

By Dima Samaro, Executive Director at Skyline International for Human Rights (SIHR)

Governments in the Middle East and North Africa are blocking the digital apps where Generation Z gathers, targeting platforms like Discord and Roblox under the guise of protecting children from online harms. Yet the timing and technical nature of these bans reveal their true political goal of preemptively closing online spaces that enable youth organizing and collective action.

In Morocco, Discord—a voice, video, and text app popular among gamers—became a central tool for the "GenZ 212" protests, a youth-led movement that mobilized hundreds of thousands across the country to demand fundamental social and economic rights. The Moroccan government responded by arresting nearly 1,000 people, with three protesters reportedly killed since the protests began in late September.

This event signaled a pivotal shift in digital activism. It demonstrated that a new generation had moved its online organizing from the public squares of mainstream social media to the encrypted servers of platforms built for gamers.

Alarmed by this model, other governments in the region are now moving to block the apps instead of addressing the root causes that drive people to use them. Jordan has reportedly blocked Discord, Iraq has imposed a full ban on Roblox, and Egypt is considering following suit. This has triggered a surge in the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the restrictions, a clear sign that users see these blocks as an act of control, not a measure for their safety.

The control problem: How digital architecture defies state control

A decade after the Arab Spring, platforms like Facebook have lost credibility among youth activists. Widespread documentation of content takedowns, particularly the censorship of content related to Palestine, coupled with routine cooperation with government requests for user data, has driven mobilization toward platforms with fundamentally different architectures like Discord and Roblox.

These platforms present unique challenges to state control through their technical design. Discord employs a decentralized server structure and uses end-to-end encryption for private communications, powered by the 'Dave Protocol' that secures text, voice, and video conversations between users. This creates a fundamental technical barrier to mass surveillance. Roblox, while a centralized platform, creates monitoring challenges through its sheer scale, hosting millions of user-generated virtual worlds that defy practical oversight.

The stakes are enormous in a region with over 377 million gamers. MENA's status as the world's fastest-growing gaming market means these platforms sit at the center of youth culture and communication.

Faced with communications spaces they cannot effectively monitor, authorities are opting for the most definitive solution available—a full block. This was the case in Jordan, where Discord was reportedly blocked on October 6, coinciding with its prominent role in Morocco's GenZ 212 protests. Despite the lack of any official statement, many users reported being unable to access their accounts or the platform. Reports indicated that officials justified the move as necessary to protect minors from exploitation online. Similarly, Iraq banned Roblox on October 20, with authorities claiming the platform contains "sexual insinuations, obscene language, and inappropriate behavior" that could expose children to online extortion.

In both cases, this rhetoric of child safety serves as a pretext for blocking apps whose very design—be it encryption, decentralization, or the massive unmanageable sprawl of a virtual world—challenges state control and seeks to prevent the kind of scalable organizing that proved effective in Morocco.

The legal playbook: How governments justify app blocking

The blocking of Discord and Roblox across the MENA region reveals a common strategy of using legal measures to authorize digital censorship. While some countries employ specific cybercrime laws, others repurpose existing legislation—all under the guise of protecting national security or public order.

This approach is part of a broader regional pattern of state control over digital communications. Turkey has imposed a full ban on Discord, while the United Arab Emirates heavily restricts its voice and video chat functions. Oman and Iran maintain complete blocks on the platform.

In Jordan, the Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023 empowers this censorship. Under Article 17, the law criminalizes online content that "targets community peace or incites strife," allowing authorities to frame digital organizing as a threat to social stability and block a platform like Discord.

In Iraq, the ban on Roblox was carried out through a combination of a Federal Supreme Court ruling and Law No. 2 of 2013, which criminalizes games that "encourage violence." The Ministry of Communications claimed the platform poses a "direct threat to social security" and contains "sexual implications, explicit language, and violations." Similar bans target other popular games, including PUBG and Fortnite. This use of existing laws demonstrates how governments can block digital platforms even without specific cybercrime legislation.

In Egypt, app bans are established by Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law No. 175 of 2018, specifically Article 7, which permits authorities to block websites deemed a threat to national security or the economy without requiring a judicial order. Since May 2017, the Egyptian authorities have blocked at least 600 websites and apps, including independent news outlets, human rights organizations, and nearly 400 VPN services.

The path ahead

These bans represent more than isolated incidents. They mark an escalation in the closure of online civic space across the MENA region. Online platforms and game apps are not inherently dangerous. The risk lies in the absence of awareness and guidance. Blanket bans do not build a digitally literate society but instead push users to find alternatives, often through less secure means. Rather than resorting to censorship, governments should pursue transparent policies that genuinely address online child safety through education and digital literacy programs.

More critically, they must confront the root causes of youth discontent, including high rates of unemployment, corruption, and injustice. Blocking the platforms where these issues are raised and debated only suppresses essential dialogue. By doing so, governments are dismantling fundamental rights to free expression, assembly, and creative exchange.

At SIHR, we will continue to monitor these restrictions, document their impact, and advocate for the protection of digital rights across the region. If you have been affected by the blocks on Discord, Roblox, or any other platform in the MENA region, we want to hear from you. Share your story with us to help us expose the real harm of these digital crackdowns.