San Francisco Frontiers - Russia unblocks Roblox after widespread child anger

The platform -- which allows users to build their own games and share them with others -- was among Russia's most popular mobile games, tying third with TikTok in usage time among children in early 2025, according to Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based global cybersecurity firm.

In a statement published Wednesday, Russia's digital ministry said Roblox had successfully implemented measures to "protect children, including by launching a mechanism to restrict access to games by age group".

"Roblox has also committed to continuing to combat the spread of undesirable content on the platform," the statement added.

Russia banned access to the US-owned platform last December, accusing it of distributing extremist materials and promoting "LGBT propaganda".

A Roblox spokesperson told AFP at the time that the company was committed to safety and respected "local laws and regulations".

Ekaterina Mizulina, the head of Russia's state-sponsored internet censorship watchdog, said in December she had received "63,000 emails" from disgruntled schoolchildren and parents commenting on the ban.

"This raises a question. Perhaps it's time to look for other ways to combat paedophiles and provocateurs who target children online?" she said.

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

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.

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.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Roblox's unblocking in Russia "shows that all services can return if they comply with the law", in comments to the state TASS news agency.

W.Thompson--SFF