Local media say Roblox is banned in Russia

Online gaming platform Roblox has been banned in Russia, according to a report from 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 a translation of an article in Russian state-owned news agency TASS, 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. Recent reports have highlighted how the platform is exposing some of its underage users to child predators. In the United States, Roblox has faced legal investigations from prosecutors in Texas and Louisiana. Roblox has since introduced age verification and content moderation tools aimed at keeping kids safe — starting in January, the company plans to implement mandatory face verification to access Roblox’s chat features. (However, facial verification technology comes with safety concerns of its own.)

Roblox also required developers to report 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 a 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 an open letter, the groups wrote that Roblox considers topics such as “equality of pay in sports” to be “sensitive.”

“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.