Sawt Falasteen - Russia blocks popular game-creator Roblox over child 'harassment'

The platform -- which allows users to build their own games and share them with others -- was Russia's most downloaded mobile game of 2023, according to Russia's Vedomosti newspaper.

In a statement published by Russian news agencies, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor said Roblox had become rife with "inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children".

"Children in the game are subjected to sexual harassment, intimate photos are tricked out of them, and they are coerced into committing depraved acts and violence," it said.

Roblox, owned by the California-based Roblox Corporation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Around 100 million people use Roblox daily, with under-13s accounting for around 40 percent of its 2024 users, according to the company.

Users began reporting problems accessing the game in Russia earlier Wednesday, according to sites monitoring internet outages.

Roblox has been banned by other countries including Qatar, Iraq and Turkey, primarily over child safety concerns, while the US states of Texas and Louisiana sued the app for the same reason.

The Roblox Corporation says it moderates all content through human review and artificial intelligence tools, including to remove "exploitative content".

Russia has repeatedly threatened foreign-owned sites with bans, part of what rights advocates say is a broader attempt by authorities to control and monitor internet use.

Russia's media regulator announced last week it was considering banning WhatsApp, the country's second most popular messenger, on the pretext it was failing to prevent "crime".

N.Shalabi--SF-PST