Roskomnadzor, Russia’s telecommunications watchdog, has blocked access to the Roblox online gaming platform for failing to stop the distribution of what it described as LGBT propaganda and extremist materials.
“Roskomnadzor has restricted access to the American Internet service Roblox in connection with the revealed facts of mass and repeated dissemination of materials with propaganda and justification of extremist and terrorist activities, calls for illegal actions of a violent nature and propaganda of LGBT topics,” Russia’s internet regulator said in a Wednesday press statement.
“Such actions are committed, including in the so-called rooms and platforms of the game, where users can become performers of terrorist actions, attack the school, and participate in gambling. The cases of such illegal behavior against children have long been of a non-alignance both in the United States and in Russia.”
The move follows a similar statement in November, when Roskomnadzor said that Roblox’s moderation team had repeatedly confirmed it couldn’t block the distribution of unsafe materials on the platform.
Roblox can be played on both desktop and mobile platforms. As of this month, Roblox for Android has been downloaded over 1 billion times on the Google Play Store, while its iOS counterpart has over 16 million ratings on Apple’s App Store.
“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 told BleepingComputer. “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.”
Russian news agency Interfax also reported on Friday that Roskomnadzor is planning to ban WhatsApp, a messaging platform used by over 3 billion people across more than 180 countries.
One year ago, Russia blocked the Viber encrypted messaging app, used by hundreds of millions worldwide, for violating the country’s anti-terrorism and anti-extremism legislation, months after banning the Signal encrypted messaging service for the same reason.
In March 2023, Roskomnadzor also banned government and state agencies from using multiple foreign private messaging platforms, including Discord, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Threema, Viber, WhatsApp, and WeChat.
Multiple virtual private network (VPN) applications were also banned in Russia in three waves: January 2020, June 2021, and December 2021.
A Roblox spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by BleepingComputer earlier today.
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