Russia has blocked children’s game Roblox due to alleged inappropriate content. Roskomnadzor justified this with the spread of LGBT propaganda and risks for children.
Russia blocked access to the American children’s video game Roblox on Wednesday. Communications regulator Roskomnadzor said the game spreads “LGBT propaganda” and is “full of inappropriate content that can negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.” TASR informs about it based on a Reuters report.
Roblox is extremely popular and is played by 151.5 million people worldwide every day. Players can create and program their own games in Roblox and then share them with other players.
Critics warn of risks
Critics warn that the game is also being misused by predators to exploit children. For this reason, access to it has already been blocked by Iraq, Qatar or Turkey. A similar reason was given by the Russian Roskomnadzor, according to which “children are exposed to sexual harassment in the game, intimate photos are obtained from them by deception, and then they are forced to commit perverted acts and violence.”
California-based Roblox says on its website that it is committed to protecting user safety through artificial intelligence tools, teams of moderators and collaboration with law enforcement and child safety experts.
Repeated pressure from Russia
Reuters reminds that Russia has repeatedly threatened foreign websites with a ban, and Roskomnadzor has blocked several of them for spreading prohibited content.
Language learning app Duolingo, for example, had to delete references to “non-traditional sexual relations” last year after being prompted by a Russian regulator.
