Local media say Roblox is banned in Russia

Online gaming platform Roblox has been banned in Russia, according to a report from Russia Russian state media.

Roblox is a user-generated content platform where players can create and share their own games and experiences, similar to Minecraft. The platform hosts several interest- and affinity-based communities, including military role-playing games and LGBTQ solidarity groups. But Russia has laws that classify public advocacy for the LGBT community as “Extremist activity.“

According to the translation of the article in TASSa Russian state-owned news agency, the Russian Communications Agency cited the presence of LGBTQ content on the platform as one of the reasons behind the ban.

Roblox did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment on the ban this afternoon.

The ban comes as Roblox faces broader safety and moderation challenges. recently Reports It highlighted how the platform was exposing some of its underage users to child predators. In the United States, I encountered Roblox legal Investigations From prosecutors in Texas and Louisiana. Since then, Roblox has introduced age checks and Moderation in content Tools aimed at keeping kids safe – starting in January, the company plans to implement them mandatory Face verification to access chat features in Roblox. (However, face verification technology comes with Safety concerns her own.)

Roblox has too he asked Developers are flagging experiences that are “primarily centered around a sensitive social, political, or religious issue” so that parents of users under the age of 13 can determine whether their children can access that content. This sparked backlash From advocacy groups such as Out Make Games, Women in Games, and BAME in Games, which represent minority groups in the games industry. in Open letterThe groups wrote that Roblox considered topics such as “equality of pay in sports” to be “sensitive” topics.

“Although parental controls serve an important purpose, they should not come at the expense of basic human dignity,” the letter said. “We call on Roblox to reconsider these guidelines and find ways to protect young users without legitimizing discrimination or silencing important voices.”

According to Appfigures, an app intelligence company, Roblox has been installed an estimated 70 million times in Russia on mobile, with about 8 million downloads so far this year.