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I don’t get it. Roblox is an American company. Wouldn’t the pretty broad sanctions prevent them from operating there already?
by booi 10mo ago
I don’t get it. Roblox is an American company. Wouldn’t the pretty broad sanctions prevent them from operating there already?
- johncolanduoni 10mo agoSome stuff on Roblox is free, perhaps they were only enjoined from accepting payments?
- extesy 10mo agoThat depends on what you mean by "operating". This very website, Hacker News, is not blocked in Russia - does that mean Y Combinator is "operating" there?
- thenthenthen 10mo agoFun fact, Hacker News is blocked in China
- AndrewKemendo 10mo agoI’m curious how you know this? Did you try to get to this site from mainland and it was blocked? Seems to work fine from a Chinese VPN IP
- thenthenthen 10mo agoI am in China and it does not load. What vpn are you using? Its prolly hosted in HK or TW.
- mog_dev 10mo agoIf they get money from users in that particular country then yes.
- extesy 10mo agoNot necessarily. Roblox does not directly receive money from users - nobody sends them a paper check or bank wire from Russia. Technically they get money from payment providers, who are supposedly compliant with all sanctions. I'm pretty sure that any provider that can support Roblox scale is big enough to worry about risks of being non-compliant.
- johncolanduoni 10mo agoNot all sanctions only require you to validate that the bank isn’t from that country. Usually disbursing money (which Roblox does as a two-sided marketplace) requires actual KYC.
- culebron21 10mo agoThere's a big difference -- when EU/US bans Russians from using Roblox and other things and seeing other culture, (or someone bans Russians or Iranians by IP), it's rightful and thoughtful decision to protect democracy. When Russia does the same, it's dictatorial censorship.
- cosmicgadget 10mo agoWhich bans are you referring to?
- johncolanduoni 10mo agoThey’re referring to sanctions - persons/businesses residing in Russia, certain specific individuals and those working for specific Russian entities are locked out of much of the Western economy. I think it’s reasonable personally, but I can understand how a Russian 1000km from the Ukrainian frontline who used to sell jewelry on Etsy would be pissed.
- culebron21 10mo agoThe most affected were not those inside, but the emigrants. MasterCard and Visa blocked Russian banks, and the emigrees couldn't pay with their savings anymore. Some people got shadow banned by banks, their accounts closed, or money transfers rejected. These people were on the Europe's side politically, yet they were targeted by just the passport.
- johncolanduoni 10mo agoNone of the Russian expats I’ve met had this problem: after 2014 they all saw the writing on the wall and moved their money to western banks. I have sympathy for those that didn’t - normal people shouldn’t have to make this kind of calculus - but there’s no alternative to this while having useful sanctions. It’s not the causeless brutality of breaking someone’s window because of their accent.
- 14 10mo agoThis is an interesting question I wish I knew. Because I play war thunder and it is free to play but once a year I pay about $50 for the annual premium membership because I enjoy the game and worth it to me. But ultimately it is supposedly a Russian game. I know they have offices in other parts of the world but I have really wondered if the money is going back to Russia or if all the developed have just left and get it elsewhere in a different county.
- culebron21 10mo agoWikipedia says it's moved to Hungary in 2015.