Russia blocks access to US children's gaming platform Roblox

Dec 3 (Reuters) – Russia has blocked access to the U.S. children's gaming platform Roblox, accusing it of distributing extremist materials and "LGBT propaganda". Announcing the move on Wednesday, the communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said Roblox was "rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children". A Roblox spokesperson said in an emailed comment to 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." The spokesperson said Roblox has "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." Roblox, which averaged 151.5 million daily active users in the third quarter of this year, has been banned by several countries including Iraq and Turkey over concerns about predators exploiting the platform to abuse children. Roskomnadzor has a long track record of restricting access to Western media and tech platforms that it deems to be hosting content that breaches Russian laws. Last year, language-learning app Duolingo deleted references to what Russia calls "non-traditional sexual relations" after being warned by the watchdog about publishing LGBT content. In 2023, Russia designated what it called the "international LGBT movement" as extremist and those supporting it as terrorists, paving the way for serious criminal cases against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their advocates. In August this year, Russia began limiting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of refusing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases. Roskomnadzor last week threatened to block WhatsApp completely. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Mark Trevelyan. Editing by Jane Merriman and Lincoln Feast)

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