A Reuters report says Russia has blocked access to Roblox in the country over concerns that it is "rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children." That may not be entirely wrong, but the allegations themselves certainly are: The ban was prompted by what Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor described as extremist content and "LGBT propaganda" being distributed on the platform, a position later confirmed by Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.
That's quite a bit different from the usual complaints about the dangers to children on Roblox, which are more typically cited as the presence of predators and unmoderated sexual content on the platform. The attorney general for Kentucky, for instance, called Roblox "a playground for predators who seek to harm our children," while the AG for Texas accused Roblox of "putting pixel pedophiles and profit" ahead of child safety measures.
The Russian ban, unfortunately, is predicated in part on the mere presence of LGBT content in the game—which, to be perfectly clear, is not a danger to children or anyone else. It is, however, forbidden in films, television, and videogames in Russia, the result of a 2022 expansion of a law that had previously prohibited "the propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" in content for minors.
Roblox is hardly the first game to fall afoul of Russians censors. In 2022 Electronic Arts decided against releasing The Sims 4 expansion My Wedding Stories in Russia rather than remove same-sex couples, for instance, and in 2023 the Russian government began digging deeper for games "spreading information that affect one's consciousness and subconscious," with the ultimate goal of banning anything that didn't comport with officially accepted standards of 'normal' behavior.
The "extremist content" mentioned in the Reuters report isn't so specifically defined, but has previously been used in reference to anything expressing support for Ukraine, which is still battling the unprovoked Russian invasion that began in 2022. Russia has previously taken action against Ukrainian studio GSC Game World over the presence of "Ukrainian narratives" and "aggressive Russophobic content" in Stalker 2.
In response to our inquiry, Roblox provided a statement that might be even worse than Roblox Corporation CEO David Baszucki's bizarre interview with the New York Times: It utterly fails to even acknowledge the Russian ban, much less comment on its underlying rationale or address potential plans for moving forward. I share it here solely as evidence that I did in fact reach out for comment.
“We respect the local laws and regulations in the countries where we operate and believe Roblox provides a positive space for learning, creation and meaningful connection for everyone," a Roblox spokesperson said. "We have a deep commitment to safety and we have a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent harmful content on our platform.”
