Russia blocks access to U.S. children’s gaming platform Roblox

The gaming platform Roblox is displayed on a tablet. (AP Photo/Leon Keith, File)

Russia has blocked access to the U.S. children’s gaming platform Roblox, accusing it of distributing extremist materials and “LGBT propaganda.”

Announcing the move on Wednesday, the communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said Roblox was “rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children.”

Roblox Corp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Roblox, which averaged 151.5 million daily active users in the third quarter of this year, has been banned by several countries including Iraq and Turkey over concerns about predators exploiting the platform to abuse children.

The company says on its website it is rigorously committed to keeping users safe, including via AI tools, moderation teams and collaboration with law enforcement and child safety experts.

Roskomnadzor has a long track record of restricting access to Western media and tech platforms that it deems to be hosting content that breaches Russian laws.

Last year, language-learning app Duolingo deleted references to what Russia calls “non-traditional sexual relations” after being warned by the watchdog about publishing LGBT content.

In 2023, Russia designated what it called the “international LGBT movement” as extremist and those supporting it as terrorists, paving the way for serious criminal cases against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their advocates.

In August this year, Russia began limiting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of refusing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases. Roskomnadzor last week threatened to block WhatsApp completely.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Mark Trevelyan. Editing by Jane Merriman)