Roblox ban protests in Russia
Protest caused by Russia's 2025 ban of Roblox
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Following the Roskomnadzor's statement on 3 December 2025, which stated that Roblox would face a national ban in the Russian Federation over content regulations, a series of rare, a coordinated public demonstration and digital campaigns, occurred throughout the nation. The protesters were mostly children and teenagers from Generation Alpha and Generation Z.[1] This wave of resistance from Russia's youngest demographic ultimately forced a rare political retreat by the government, culminating in the Minkomsvyaz officially lifting the ban on 10 June 2026, following over 63,000 official letters of complaint from minors.
| Roblox ban protests in Russia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Censorship of Roblox and Child safety on Roblox | |||
| Date | December 3, 2025 — 2026 | ||
| Location | |||
| Goals | Lift the ban of Roblox in Russia | ||
| Methods | |||
| Resulted in | Successful
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| Parties | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
Anton Isakov | |||
| Number | |||
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| Casualties and losses | |||
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Background
In December 2025, the Russian federal communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, implemented a nationwide block on the U.S.-based gaming platform Roblox. The authorities cited concerns that the platform hosted extremist content, facilitated the harassment of minors, terrorism, and violated laws regarding "LGBT propaganda."[2]
Estimates indicated approximately 18 million monthly active users in Russia were affected.[3] Roblox was tying third with TikTok in usage time among Russian children in early 2025.[4][5]
Protests and public response
Following the ban, dissent materialized in the form of complaints sent directly to pro‑government "internet safety" politician Ekaterina Mizulina, with her reporting over 63.000 letters. Letters also reached Vladimir Putin's office. The messages sent to the Kremlin did not stop at criticizing the ban itself, but half of them stated that they wanted to leave Russia in the future because of the "suffocating" environment created by the government.[2] Online protests also targeted Mizulina's social media accounts, with around 5.000 defying comments in some of her posts following the ban, some complaining of the financial damage of banning the platform due to the personal investment in in-platform purchases by some users.[1]
On 14 December 2025 protests went beyond the internet, with a physical protest occurring in the city of Tomsk, despite refusal of local authorities to allow a protest in the city centre, forcing the demonstration to occur in its outskirts.[6][7] The protests participants were Roblox users and their parents, numbering up to 50 people. Slogans during the protests included "Hands Off Roblox" and "Bans and blocks are all you are capable of."[2][8] Reuters reported on the protest calling it "rare".[9] During the protest two National Bolshevik activists, Arseny Leoshko and Alexander Yershov, were detained by the Russian police and later released.[10] The protest was organized by Anton Isakov,[7][11] a local who organized other protests against other social media bans.[12]
The hashtag #BringBackRoblox trended on Russian social medias, accompanied by sarcastic remarks by players, some even stating to overthrow the government.[13]
Aftermath
The amount of backlash initially prompted the Russian government to "rush" to make a localized alternative app to Roblox with its own moderation and filter, with Vladislav Grib publicly calling for it.[14][15]
However, on 10 June 2026 the Minkomsvyaz officially lifted the ban on Roblox following talks with the company.[16] The reason why the ban was lifted was stated to have been the public pressure of the protests and the parents of the protesters, and not the result of a reconsideration of the ban following an official regulatory review.[3][17]
The government stated that Roblox had successfully implemented a range of additional child-protection measures, allowing it to get unbanned.[16] Following the lift of the ban Mizulina questioned in a public statement if "Perhaps it'[was]s time to look for other ways to combat pedophiles and provocateurs who target children online", and Dmitry Peskov made it an example of a service that complied with local laws and thus was unbanned.[4]
Despite the fact that users could not message on the platform following the ban's lifting, Mizulina commented that Russian users would soon be able to chat with one another.[18] Roblox promised to increase the severity of its filter system and its moderation system.[19]
Following the decision to overturn the ban, Roblox's stocks had a surge of 5%.[20]