The blocking of the gaming platform Roblox once again confirmed that the Russian state is stuck in the last century. Unlike adults, who force their discontent deep inside them until better days that never come, children have no such inhibition. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “many” children had written in to the president’s annual end-of-year press conference to complain about the ban.

Roblox allows users to socialize online through games they create themselves. Its risks are well known: in the eyes of many countries’ laws, this level of engagement can verge on child labor exploitation. Most importantly, these worlds are easily infiltrated by ill-intentioned adults posing as children.

The day after the ban, Yekaterina Mizulina — head of the Safe Internet League and a serial denouncer — seized the moment for self-promotion, claiming she had received tens of thousands of letters from heartbroken children. Roblox’s developer even issued a statement saying it was ready to do everything possible to improve safety and comply with local........

© The Moscow Times