Russia Bans Roblox
Russia’s ban on Roblox prompts wider debate over state censorship, with many commenters comparing Russian controls on media and platforms to EU and US restrictions on Russian outlets and apps like TikTok. Some argue that ordinary Russians can still bypass blocks with VPNs, while others stress that legal and technical pressure is steadily making that harder and more dangerous. The thread also explores whether such bans ever genuinely protect children or national security, or mainly serve to tighten authoritarian control over information in contrast—if not always in degree—to Western practices.
Reactions to the Roblox Ban
- Some commenters welcome the ban, arguing Roblox is exploitative or harmful for children; they see a “right outcome for wrong reasons.”
- Others focus less on Roblox itself and more on the pattern of Russian internet control and information isolation.
- Comparisons are made to China, where Roblox is also banned; hypothesis: nationalist or authoritarian governments dislike global platforms that shape youth culture outside state control.
Russian Censorship and VPN Use
- BBC and many Western sites are blocked; people in Russia report widespread VPN use to bypass restrictions, even among non‑technical workers.
- Others push back, saying VPN use is illegal, unstable, expensive (due to fines), and more heavily blocked in poorer regions, so adoption is far from universal.
- There is discussion of future “whitelists” (only approved IPs reachable) and inventive circumvention ideas (e.g., tunneling over state‑linked messengers), with strong warnings that such tactics could be dangerous.
- Legal situation is described as ambiguous: using VPNs per se is said to be not explicitly banned yet, but searching for “extremist materials” is; this creates risk for VPN users.
Comparisons with EU/US Censorship and Sanctions
- Some argue there is “standard censorship” on both sides: Russia bans Western media; the EU formally bans Russian state outlets; TikTok bans and internal US restrictions (e.g., on Wikileaks for federal employees) are cited as Western examples.
- Others counter that Western media remains pluralistic and can openly criticize leaders, whereas Russian media is described as fully under state editorial control.
- Debate over sanctions: sanctions and payments systems have hit ordinary Russians and emigrants, sometimes those politically opposed to the Kremlin; critics say this punishes the wrong people.
State Power vs Corporate Power
- One camp sees state censorship as uniquely dangerous because the state holds the monopoly on violence; another argues “big capital” effectively rules in Western democracies, so corporate deplatforming and right‑to‑repair issues feel like a different kind of dictatorship.
- There is a broader argument over whether any country is a “real democracy” or just different flavors of elite control.
Broader Political Digressions
- Heated debate over how popular the Russian leadership actually is, the impact of war pay on poorer regions, historical atrocities, and “cancel culture” in the West; participants strongly disagree on equivalence between these phenomena and open dictatorship.