Gaming

Sony bans a user with common Arab name

Posted by Ahmad Alhasan on

After gaming for seven years, a PlayStation user living in Saudi Arabia named Jihad Khalid Almofaddawas banned from using his real name on the gaming network, where he played under the username iJihad.

Almofadda posted about the ban on Reddit, which gained a lot of traction. He then received an emailfrom Sony explaining that he had been banned because his username was deemed to be inappropriate.

Almofadda was no longer able to access his account, games and online services.

Sony then offered him a PSN username change, however after reviewing his list of new usernames, Sony revoked the offer, keeping the ban in place as his current username was “offensive” and provoked “hate speech.”

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Almofadda then took the case to PlayStation UK, which restored his account with a new username

However, this came with a few costs. Almofadda says his friends are deleted, he has lost social features, and he has lost trophies.

Any gamer out there knows how essential an account is when it comes to internet-connected games. Losing your account can delete any progress you have made and may also invalidate all digital purchases made under the account.

Although Jihad is one of the most common Arab names, not just among Muslims but also for Christians, the name has been attached to the term “jihadists” in recent years, causing uproar in all the wrong places.

The online community couldn’t keep quiet about the absurdity of the situation, coming to Almofadda’s defense.