Russia refuses to unblock Roblox despite company’s attempts to make concessions
Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor has officially stated that there are no grounds to unblock the American gaming platform Roblox in Russia. Access to the service was restricted on December 3, 2025, over accusations of distributing extremist content and “LGBT propaganda.”
Despite the fact that in January 2026 Roblox Corporation introduced new, stricter safety rules—including mandatory age verification via photo and age-based chat segregation—the Russian regulator considers these measures insufficient, according to Russian media reports.
The blocking decision has triggered an unprecedented wave of discontent among millions of Russian teenagers. Yekaterina Mizulina, head of the “Safe Internet League,” reported receiving more than 63,000 letters from children expressing despair and a desire to emigrate due to digital censorship. Isolated pickets took place in Tomsk and other Russian cities under slogans such as “Roblox is a victim of the digital Iron Curtain,” while the hashtag #ВернитеРоблокс (“Bring Back Roblox”) has spread widely on social media. Experts note that the situation has prompted children to massively learn and adopt technologies to bypass internet blocks.
For its part, Roblox’s administration continues a global safety reform that includes deleting personal data of users under the age of 13 and introducing mandatory parental consent for chat usage. Although these changes are aimed at protecting users from pedophilia and fraud—issues raised by regulators in many countries—in Russia the blocking remains a tool of political control and isolation. The situation surrounding the gaming platform has become another stage in the displacement of Western IT services from the Russian market in favor of state-controlled alternatives.
Previously, Roskomnadzor stated that the blocked Roblox platform was ready to “gradually” bring its operations into compliance with Russian legislation. The agency emphasized that it was prepared to restore cooperation with the platform if it genuinely changed its approach to child online safety, Russian media reported.
Roskomnadzor also announced the “phased” blocking of WhatsApp. Restrictions on calls in both WhatsApp and Telegram under the pretext of “combating” terrorism and fraud became known back in August.
