Roblox has been banned by the communications watchdog in Russia as of December 3, the platform’s site and app no longer accessible within the country because it is “rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children.” Is the Roskomnadzor watchdog primary concern the ongoing and extremely serious issue of pedophiles using the game’s woeful lack of child protection to groom victims? No, no it is not. It’s worried about “LGBT propaganda.”
Russia’s state-driven intolerance of LGBTQ+ people is, sadly, hardly anything new, and reaches new, more farcical levels in this latest action. The country, which in 2023 declared what it calls the “International Public LGBT Movement” to be an “extremist organization,” has recently been prosecuting Russian citizens simply for showing LGBTQ symbols, in an ever-more draconian attempt to oppress and persecute its queer population. Under the crime of spreading “gay propaganda,” as put into law in 2013, Russians are not allowed to even discuss gay rights, let alone be in non-straight relationships. So it is that Roblox falls foul of the regime’s prejudice because it, er, has gay stuff in it?
As reported by Interfax, Roskomnadzor described Roblox as having “registered facts of massive and repeated dissemination of materials with propaganda and justification of extremist and terrorist activities,” as well as “calls for committing illegal violent actions and LGBT propaganda.” It then went on at some length about how how all this affects children’s morality.
In an earlier statement ahead of the ban the watchdog claimed the platform has “game locations where users can become perpetrators of terrorist actions, attack a school, and gamble,” and then as an afterthought adds, “Children are molested in the game, they are lured to provide their intimate photos, are being involved in sexual misconduct and violence as Roblox is popular with pedophiles, who meet minors right in the game chats and then switch over to real life.” However, this seems to have been tacked on in light of recent worldwide reporting on the matter, given Roskomnadzor previous barrage of statements this year about Roblox‘s promotion of “attributes of the LGBT community.”
As Reuters reports, this puts Roblox in the same camp as Duolingo, which was blocked last year for references to “non-traditional sexual relations.” Of Roblox‘s 150 million users, around 4 million are thought to be in Russia. Roblox told Reuters, “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.” Which is about as awful a response as you’d expect from the company, which clearly should have spoken in favor of the rights of its LGBTQ players and community.
