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When Russian authorities abruptly blocked access to the global gaming platform Roblox in early December 2025, they presented it as a routine measure to protect children from harmful content, extremism and “LGBT propaganda.” In reality, the decision has exposed a rare confrontation between the Kremlin and its youngest internet users, turning a children’s game into a flashpoint in Russia’s wider project to control the digital sphere. For millions of Russian children and teenagers, Roblox functions not only as a game but as a creative and social environment, so the ban was experienced less as a technical adjustment and more as a direct intrusion into their everyday lives.

Roskomnadzor’s Case and the Role of Roblox
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media and telecom regulator, ordered providers to block Roblox nationwide on 3 December 2025, accusing the US‑based platform of hosting extremist content, justifying terrorism and spreading banned “LGBT propaganda,” as well as enabling harassment and sexual exploitation of minors. Roblox’s model of user‑generated worlds, social interaction and cross‑border connectivity sits uneasily with Russia’s increasingly restrictive legal framework, where broad references to extremism and morality are routinely used to justify full blocking. In the current environment, safety and moderation systems matter less than political classification: once a platform is framed as a threat to national security or traditional values, it is quickly pushed out of the Russian segment of the internet.

Youth Complaints and Talk of Leaving Russia
What makes this case stand out is the scale and tone of the youth response. In the days after the ban, children and teenagers began sending complaints directly to the Kremlin and to prominent pro‑government “internet safety” activist Yekaterina Mizulina. The Kremlin’s spokesperson acknowledged that “many” letters about Roblox had reached Vladimir Putin’s office ahead of his annual year‑end press conference. Mizulina reported receiving around 63,000 messages from children aged eight to sixteen, and said that roughly half of them expressed a desire to leave Russia because of the ban. This is striking language: young users are not only asking for access to be restored, but describing the restriction as part of a broader suffocating environment that makes them want to exit the country altogether.

Street Protest in Tomsk
The anger did not remain confined to screens. On Sunday 14 December, several dozen people, including young Roblox users and parents, gathered in the Siberian city of Tomsk to protest the ban. In today’s Russia, where public demonstrations are heavily criminalised, any visible protest is significant; that this one focused on a children’s gaming platform makes it especially notable. Protesters carried placards with slogans such as “Bans and blocks are all you are capable of,” directly criticising the state’s reliance on technical censorship instead of dialogue or targeted regulation. Although small in number, the demonstration signalled that digital platform bans are now understood by some young people and families as a political issue touching on rights and freedoms, not just a matter of entertainment.

A Wider Digital Crackdown
The Roblox block coincided with new measures against other foreign platforms heavily used by young people. Roskomnadzor confirmed that it had blocked Snapchat and imposed restrictions on Apple’s FaceTime, again citing concerns about extremism and the misuse of encrypted communication. These actions build on years of escalating controls: Facebook and Instagram have been banned and labelled “extremist,” Twitter/X is effectively inaccessible without circumvention tools, and YouTube operates under constant regulatory and technical pressure. At the same time, users and advertisers are pushed toward domestic services such as VK and RuTube, which are more tightly aligned with state censorship and data‑localisation demands.

Runet, Cultural Rights and Youth Creativity
Taken together, these measures form part of a long‑term effort to build a more closed, sovereign “Runet,” insulated from global platforms, norms and infrastructures. Since the full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, wartime security rhetoric, expanded extremism laws and “traditional values” legislation have been fused into a powerful toolkit that reaches far beyond explicitly political content. The Roblox case shows how this toolkit now extends deep into youth culture and participatory digital creativity, restricting not only information flows but also the spaces where young people learn, experiment and collaborate. For artistic freedom and cultural rights, the implications are severe: a platform that functions as a playground for grassroots digital creation has been redefined as a threat, and the children who depend on it for connection and self‑expression are emerging, unexpectedly, as some of the most articulate critics of Russia’s tightening digital regime.

In December 2025, Russia’s ban on Roblox turned a children’s game into a flashpoint for youth activism. Tens of thousands of complaints reached the Kremlin, and protests emerged, highlighting how digital creativity and social spaces are clashing with tightening state control. This case underscores the growing tension between censorship, cultural rights, and the next generation of internet users.

#DigitalRights #YouthActivism #Roblox #Censorship #Runet #SocialImpact #TechPolicy #FreedomOfExpression

Russia Blocks Roblox, Youth Outcry Grows

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