Apple facing ‘gay propaganda’ probe – TASS
US tech giant Apple is facing legal action in Russia for allegedly violating laws on LGBT propaganda, TASS has reported.
The Tagansky Court in Moscow received the paperwork for the case on Wednesday, the agency said.
The California-based tech giant is accused of breaching Part 3 of Article 6.21 of Russia’s Administrative Violations Code, which covers online propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations and preferences, gender reassignment, and child-free ideology.
According to Russian law, legal entities can face fines of up to 4 million rubles ($48,200) or have their activities suspended for up to 90 days if found guilty of violations.
TASS did not name the specific reason why the case against Apple has been initiated.
The Baza Telegram channel suggested that Russia’s media and digital watchdog, Roskomnadzor, may have taken issue with wallpapers dedicated to LGBTQ Pride Month being distributed on the App Store. Pride Month is marked every June in the US.
The date of the first hearing in the case is yet to be announced, according to the agency.
Apple has already been fined on several occasions for failing to delete illegal content in Russia. In one such case, the company was ordered to pay 800,000 rubles (around $9,000) in January 2024 for refusing to remove Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s book, ‘Mein Kampf’, which is listed as extremist material in Russia, from its Apple Books application.
Russia has implemented stricter laws regarding the dissemination of LGBTQ information over the past decade, first banning related propaganda among minors in 2013 and broadening the restrictions to cover adults in 2022. Last year, the country designated the LGBTQ movement as a terrorist organization.
