Thousands of kids force Putin to back down over Roblox ban

The Roblox ban in Russia sparked an unprecedented wave of complaints from children (Picture: Getty Images)

The Russian government has announced a U-turn on a Roblox ban after complaints from thousands of children.

Children in Russia access the hit game Roblox again after a petition forced officials to lift a six-month ban.

The US game was blocked in December after Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor accused the platform of being ‘rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children.’

But the move led to a wave of complaints, including a rare protest in Siberia and an official petition to restore one of the world’s most popular games.

The pro-Kremlin Safe Internet League reported receiving 63,000 letters from children against the ban.

Around half of them said the kids wanted to leave Russia because of the block, according to The Moscow Times.

The wave of complaints was even acknowledged by Vladimir Putin’s government spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who confirmed that the president received a significant number of appeals. The

The Russian ministry of media and communications said today:’Roblox has fully complied with Russian legislation to ensure user safety. The online gaming service is once again available throughout Russia.

‘The corporation has implemented a comprehensive set of measures to further protect children, including launching a mechanism to restrict access to games by age group.

‘Roblox has also committed to further combating the spread of inappropriate content on the platform.’

In its ban, the country’s media watchdog cited concern over alleged terrorism-related content and information about LGBTQ+ issues, which can fall under extremist content in Russia due to its strict laws.

Before the Russian ban, Roblox had restricted chats so that adult strangers could no longer speak to children.

Russian government has also restricted access to apps and platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube.

Meanwhile, the UK government is said to be looking into measures to stop children from speaking with strangers on any gaming platform.

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