Children in Russia have been flooding the country’s President Vladimir Putin with demands to restore access to Roblox, a gaming platform popular among children. Here’s a look at the story behind the whole saga
Children in Russia have been flooding the country’s President Vladimir Putin with demands to restore access to Roblox, a gaming platform popular among children. The murmurs of discontent started swirling after it was found that the game was blocked across the country this month.
It is pertinent to note that Roblox is based in California and allows users to create and share their own games. On December 3, the game stopped working for Russian users, sparking frustration among children. The suspension was confirmed by the state media regulator, Roskomnadzor.
As per the announcement, Russian authorities claimed that the gaming company is hosting “extremist materials” and “LGBT propaganda,” and claimed its moderation allowed content that could “negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.”
The move is seen as the latest in Moscow’s broader campaign to tighten control over foreign technology platforms and steer users toward domestic alternatives. However, internet freedom experts warned that the move would enable greater state surveillance of communications.
Roblox is not the only app
In the same week as Roblox, the Russian regulators also locked Apple’s FaceTime, citing its alleged use in coordinating attacks and other crimes, as well as Snapchat. In the past, Moscow also moved to restrict WhatsApp, the country’s most popular messaging app, while promoting a Russian-built alternative known as Max, modelled in part on China’s WeChat.
For now, WhatsApp calls are unavailable, and officials have signalled that the app could be fully banned in the coming months. While Russians have been complaining about disruption in messaging and calling services, the Roblox ban has angered many since it is the country’s second most popular gaming service, according to Mediascope.
Earlier this week, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that the Kremlin has received “many” letters from children on the matter ahead of the end-of-year presidential press marathon and call-in show on Dec. 19. Yekaterina Mizulina, head of the Kremlin-aligned Safe Internet League, claimed that since the ban “every second child” aged 8 to 16 had written to her saying because of the game’s ban, The Washington Post reported.
In a screenshot she shared with the outlet, Children was seen begging for access to be restored. However, the game has often faced criticism for exposing children to sexual content, grooming, extremist material, and financial exploitation, leading some countries to ban or restrict the platform over child-safety concerns.
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